Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Sotera Health from “strong-buy” to “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with nine Buy ratings and an average price target of $21.38.
• Sotera Health reported quarterly EPS of $0.26, exceeding the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.2% year over year to $321.38 million.
• Insiders sold 1.29 million shares worth nearly $24 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors and hedge funds continue to own a substantial 91.03% of the company.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SHC. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sotera Health from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $19.00 price target on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.38.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

SHC stock opened at $17.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Sotera Health has a fifty-two week low of $13.09 and a fifty-two week high of $19.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.16.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 40.12% and a net margin of 13.44%. The firm had revenue of $321.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. Analysts forecast that Sotera Health will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In related news, insider Michael Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total value of $2,826,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 334,279 shares in the company, valued at $6,297,816.36. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Petras, Jr. sold 850,000 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $15,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,969,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,433,770.50. This trade represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,294,515 shares of company stock valued at $23,999,528 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 3.8% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 27,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $479,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Sotera Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $428,635,000. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the second quarter worth about $426,000,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Sotera Health by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,162,191 shares of the company's stock worth $131,413,000 after buying an additional 2,390,132 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Sotera Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $149,137,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company NASDAQ: SHC is a global provider of healthcare services focused on sterilization, laboratory testing and infection prevention. The company serves medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology businesses, hospitals and other healthcare organizations.

Sotera Health operates through three primary businesses. Sterigenics provides outsourced sterilization and medical device services using technologies such as ethylene oxide, gamma irradiation and electron beam processing.

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