Reviewing West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH)

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Delcath Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$2.89 billion	5.55	$492.70 million	$6.69	33.20
Delcath Systems	$37.21 million	11.81	-$47.68 million	($0.98)	-13.42

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Delcath Systems. Delcath Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Pharmaceutical Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Delcath Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of Delcath Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Delcath Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	17.03%	18.60%	13.80%
Delcath Systems	-150.70%	-338.16%	-104.02%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and Delcath Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	1	6	0	2.86
Delcath Systems	0	0	4	0	3.00

West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus target price of $332.50, indicating a potential upside of 49.72%. Delcath Systems has a consensus target price of $22.75, indicating a potential upside of 73.00%. Given Delcath Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Delcath Systems is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Risk & Volatility

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delcath Systems has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Delcath Systems on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. This segment also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About Delcath Systems

Delcath Systems, Inc., an interventional oncology company, focuses on the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancers in the United States and Europe. The company’s lead product candidate is HEPZATO KIT, a melphalan for injection/hepatic delivery system to administer high-dose chemotherapy to the liver while controlling systemic exposure and associated side effects. Its clinical development program for HEPZATO is the FOCUS clinical trial for patients with metastatic hepatic dominant Uveal Melanoma to investigate objective response rate in metastatic uveal melanoma. It also provides HEPZATO as a stand-alone medical device under the CHEMOSAT Hepatic Delivery System trade name for Melphalan or CHEMOSAT for medical centers to treat a range of liver cancers in Europe. Delcath Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in New York, New York.