Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 102,776 Shares of Sotera Health Company $SHC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Sotera Health stake by 87.1% in the second quarter, selling 102,776 shares and retaining 15,237 shares valued at approximately $270,000. Institutional investors collectively own 91.03% of the company.
• Sotera Health insiders sold heavily: insiders sold 1.29 million shares worth nearly $24 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by Chairman Michael Petras Jr. and insider Michael Rutz.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and a $21.50 average price target versus the stock’s recent price of $18.29. The company also exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, with revenue up 9.2% year over year.

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its stake in Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC - Free Report) by 87.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 102,776 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Sotera Health were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Sotera Health by 1,105.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Sotera Health in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 217.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company's stock.

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 dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 334,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Petras, Jr. sold 850,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $15,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,969,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,433,770.50. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528 in the last three months. Insiders own 15.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SHC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sotera Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sotera Health from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sotera Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

Shares of SHC opened at $18.29 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Sotera Health Company has a 52 week low of $13.09 and a 52 week high of $19.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09 and a beta of 1.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $321.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.70 million. Sotera Health had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 40.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sotera Health Company will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company NASDAQ: SHC is a global provider of sterilization, laboratory testing and other healthcare services designed to support infection prevention and product safety. The company serves medical device, pharmaceutical and healthcare customers, helping them meet regulatory and quality requirements throughout the product life cycle.

Sotera Health operates through three primary businesses. Sterigenics provides contract sterilization and microbial reduction services for medical devices, pharmaceutical products, food and other products.

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