Sifting through countless of stocks in the Life Sciences Tools & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc.

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 products. This segment also provides drug containment solutions 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. This segment primarily 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.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Research Models and Services segment produces and sells rodents, and purpose-bred rats and mice for use by researchers. This segment also provides a range of services to assist its clients in supporting the use of research models in research and screening pre-clinical drug candidates, including genetically engineered models and services, insourcing solutions, and research animal diagnostic services; and engages in development and production of cell therapies. The Discovery and Safety Assessment segment offers in vitro and in vivo discovery services for the discovery, development, and safety testing of novel drugs, molecule compounds, oligonucleotides, and biotherapeutics, and antibodies through delivery of preclinical drug and therapeutic candidates ready for safety assessment; safety assessment services, such as toxicology, pathology, safety pharmacology, bioanalysis, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics services; and vivarium space services. The Manufacturing Solutions segment provides in vitro methods for conventional and rapid quality control testing of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals and consumer products; offers specialized testing of biologics that are outsourced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and contract development and manufacturing products and services. The company has strategic collaborations with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles across its contract development and manufacturing organization. Additionally, it has a strategic alliance with Francis Crick Institute (Crick), Inc. for the development of Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) drug discovery and development. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Latest Life Sciences Tools & Services and West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. Stock News

As of June 12, 2026, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. had a $23.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Life Sciences Tools & Services median of $1.6 million. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s stock is up 19.5% in 2026, up 4.6% in the previous five trading days and up 46.79% in the past year.

Currently, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 43.9. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.2 billion with a 16.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.610 per share for the current fiscal year. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. currently has a 0.3% dividend yield.

As of June 12, 2026, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. had a $9.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 76th percentile of all stocks. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.’s stock is down 6% in 2026, up 3.4% in the previous five trading days and up 24.09% in the past year.

Currently, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.0 billion with a -4.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.092 per share for the current fiscal year. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.	WST	F
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.	CRL	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Value Score of 12, which is Ultra Expensive. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a Value Score of 38, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.	WST	A
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.	CRL	C

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Quality Score of 92, which is Very Strong. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a Quality Score of 59, which is Average.

The Quality Grade Winner: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.	WST	B
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.	CRL	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 74, which is Positive. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 44, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International or Inc. Stock?

Overall, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 12, Estimate Revisions Score of 74 and Quality Score of 92.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 38, Estimate Revisions Score of 44 and Quality Score of 59.

Comparing West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.