Wall Street Zen Upgrades Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Sotera Health to “strong-buy” from “buy.” The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $21.38.
• Sotera Health reported quarterly EPS of $0.26, beating estimates of $0.24, while revenue reached $321.38 million, exceeding expectations and rising 9.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $18.10, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.17 billion. However, insiders sold 1.29 million shares worth nearly $24 million during the last quarter.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SHC. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sotera Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.38.

Sotera Health Stock Down 0.2%

SHC stock opened at $18.10 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75 and a beta of 1.85. Sotera Health has a fifty-two week low of $13.09 and a fifty-two week high of $19.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.56 and a 200-day moving average of $17.29.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $321.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.70 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 40.12% and a net margin of 13.44%. Sotera Health's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sotera Health will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,969,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,433,770.50. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total value of $2,826,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 334,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528 in the last quarter. 15.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sotera Health in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Sotera Health by 217.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Sotera Health during the second quarter worth $50,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Sotera Health by 150.8% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,509 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 20.1% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company's stock.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company NASDAQ: SHC is a healthcare services company focused on sterilization, laboratory testing and infection prevention. Its services support manufacturers and providers across the medical device, pharmaceutical, tissue, food safety and other healthcare-related industries.

The company operates through three primary businesses. Sterigenics provides outsourced sterilization services, including ethylene oxide, gamma irradiation and electron-beam processing. Nelson Labs offers laboratory testing, analytical services and consulting for medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.