Head-To-Head Review: West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) & ClearPoint Neuro (NASDAQ:CLPT)

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

Risk and Volatility

ClearPoint Neuro has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ClearPoint Neuro and West Pharmaceutical Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ClearPoint Neuro	$23.95 million	12.64	-$22.09 million	($0.69)	-15.91
West Pharmaceutical Services	$2.95 billion	7.66	$593.40 million	$6.74	46.29

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than ClearPoint Neuro. ClearPoint Neuro 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ClearPoint Neuro	-59.64%	-62.10%	-38.39%
West Pharmaceutical Services	17.37%	18.41%	13.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for ClearPoint Neuro and West Pharmaceutical Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ClearPoint Neuro	0	0	3	0	3.00
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	1	2	0	2.67

ClearPoint Neuro presently has a consensus target price of $11.33, indicating a potential upside of 3.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus target price of $460.33, indicating a potential upside of 47.54%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services is more favorable than ClearPoint Neuro.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.1% of ClearPoint Neuro shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of ClearPoint Neuro shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats ClearPoint Neuro on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ClearPoint Neuro

ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. operates as a medical device company primarily in the United States. It develops and commercializes platforms for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain under magnetic resonance imaging guided interventions. The company offers ClearPoint system, an integrated system for the insertion of deep brain stimulation electrodes, biopsy needles, and laser catheters, as well as the infusion of pharmaceuticals into the brain. It has license and collaboration agreement with Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB; license and research agreement with Koninklijke Philips N.V., UCB Biopharma SRL, and University of California and San Francisco; and development and license agreement with NE Scientific, LLC. The company was formerly known as MRI Interventions, Inc. and changed its name to ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. in February 2020. ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Solana Beach, California.

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.