These Were Last Week’s 10 Worst Performers

1. West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical lost 33 percent of its value in just a week’s trading, ending Friday at $214.73 apiece versus the $321.55 on February 7 as investors sold off positions following a drop in its net income coupled with a pessimistic outlook for this year.

On Thursday, WST said net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 declined by 5 percent to $130.1 million from $137 million in the same period in 2023, while net income for the full year 2024 declined by 16.97 percent to $492.7 million from $593.4 million in 2023.

Net sales for the quarter, however, were higher by 2 percent to $748.8 million from $732 million, while net sales for the full-year period dipped by 1.9 percent to $2.893 billion from $2.949 billion year-on-year.

For this year, the company said it targets diluted earnings per share to settle between $5.97 to $6.17, a significant drop from the $6.69 reported in 2024.

While we acknowledge the potential of WST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

Disclosure. None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and investors. Please subscribe to our daily free newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.