Beyond Air (NASDAQ:XAIR) vs. West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Head-To-Head Contrast

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

Volatility and Risk

Beyond Air has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.5% of Beyond Air shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. 10.0% of Beyond Air shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beyond Air	-435.71%	-440.26%	-98.50%
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.98%	20.11%	14.83%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Beyond Air and West Pharmaceutical Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beyond Air	1	0	3	0	2.50
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	2	12	0	2.86

Beyond Air presently has a consensus price target of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4,465.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus price target of $391.17, suggesting a potential downside of 0.80%. Given Beyond Air’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Beyond Air is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Beyond Air and West Pharmaceutical Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beyond Air	$7.68 million	0.29	-$33.25 million	($68.40)	-0.03
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.07 billion	9.03	$493.70 million	$7.81	50.49

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Beyond Air. Beyond Air 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.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Beyond Air on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beyond Air

Beyond Air, Inc. operates as a commercial-stage medical device and biopharmaceutical company in the United States. The company engages in the development of LungFit platform, a nitric oxide generator and delivery system. It offers LungFit PH for the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. The company is also developing LungFit PRO for the treatment of viral lung infections, such as community-acquired viral pneumonia, including COVID-19, as well as bronchiolitis in hospitalized patients; and LungFit GO for the treatment of nontuberculous mycobacteria. The company was formerly known as AIT Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Beyond Air, Inc. in June 2019. Beyond Air, Inc. is based in Garden City, New York.

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.