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What's in Store for West Pharmaceutical's (WST) Q1 Earnings?

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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2022 results on Apr 28, before the closing bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 6.3%. Its earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 26.3%.

Q1 Estimates

Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $724.6 million, suggesting growth of 8% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings stands at $2.18 per share, indicating an improvement of 6.3% from the prior-year quarter.

Factors to Note

West Pharmaceutical’s Proprietary Products business continues to exhibit sustained strength and has been an important contributor to the company’s top-line growth. In the fourth quarter of 2021, sales improved significantly on the back of double-digit growth in high-value products (HVP) and strong momentum throughout all market units. The trend is likely to have continued in the first quarter.

Apart from this, the company is likely to have witnessed margin expansion in the aforementioned segment in the to-be-reported quarter, owing to a favorable mix of products sold (stemming from the demand in HVP), production efficiencies, and higher sales price.

It continues to witness strong uptake of HVP components, which include Westar, FluroTec, Envision and NovaPure offerings, along with Daikyo’s Crystal Zenith. This momentum is likely to have sustained in the quarter to be reported.

West Pharmaceutical has been making significant efforts to retain customers’ faith in the company amid the uncertainty triggered by the pandemic. Apart from ensuring the well-being and safety of team members worldwide, it has successfully maintained the continuity of manufacturing and supply of components to customers. This, in turn, might have favored the first-quarter performance.

Meanwhile, West Pharmaceuticals’ business is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, which may have weighed on its first-quarter performance.

What Our Quantitative Model Suggests

Per our proven model, a combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is not the case here as you will see.

Earnings ESP: West Pharmaceuticals has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are some medical stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (ZBH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.36% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Zimmer Biomet's long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 5.8%. The company's earnings yield of 5.2% compares favorably with the industry's 0.9%.

Haemonetics Corporation (HAE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.84% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

Haemonetics' long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 10%. The company's earnings yield of 5.1% compares favorably with the industry's 0.9%.

DexCom, Inc. (DXCM - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.06% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

DexCom's long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 17.6%. The company's earnings yield of 0.8% compares favorably with the industry's (7%).

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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