Head-To-Head Contrast: West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) & Lancer Orthodontics (OTCMKTS:LANZ)

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Lancer Orthodontics (OTCMKTS:LANZ) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Lancer Orthodontics”s top-line 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	6.10	$492.70 million	$6.68	36.77
Lancer Orthodontics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Lancer Orthodontics.

Risk & Volatility

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lancer Orthodontics has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for West Pharmaceutical Services and Lancer Orthodontics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	2	6	1	2.89
Lancer Orthodontics	0	0	0	0	0.00

West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus target price of $320.71, suggesting a potential upside of 30.59%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services is more favorable than Lancer Orthodontics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Lancer Orthodontics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.48%	18.43%	13.67%
Lancer Orthodontics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Lancer Orthodontics on 10 of the 11 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 Lancer Orthodontics

Lancer Orthodontics, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets orthodontic products for orthodontists and dentists worldwide. It offers aesthetic brackets, brackets and buccal tubes, bands, adhesives, wires, elastomerics, intraoral and extraoral appliances, instruments, and miscellaneous products. The company was founded in 1967 and is based in Vista, California.