Insider Selling: Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Chairman Sells 850,000 Shares

Key Points

• Chairman Michael Petras sold 850,000 Sotera Health shares at an average price of $18.50, generating $15.725 million. His remaining direct ownership fell 17.64% to 3,969,393 shares.
• Sotera Health shares rose 2.6% to $19.00, near their 52-week high of $19.85. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.26 EPS and $321.38 million in revenue.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $21.50.

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) Chairman Michael Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $15,725,000.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Sotera Health Stock Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:SHC traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.00. 2,683,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,901,701. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33 and a beta of 1.77. Sotera Health Company has a fifty-two week low of $13.09 and a fifty-two week high of $19.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The company 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%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sotera Health Company will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Sotera Health in the second quarter valued at about $376,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Sotera Health in the second quarter worth about $1,440,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Sotera Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $179,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Sotera Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,856,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sotera Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $428,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Sotera Health in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sotera Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sotera Health presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.50.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Inc NASDAQ: SHC is a global provider of sterilization and laboratory testing services that support the medical device, pharmaceutical, life sciences and consumer product industries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a suite of services designed to ensure products meet rigorous safety and regulatory requirements before reaching market.

Sotera Health operates through three primary service platforms. Its Sterigenics division delivers contract sterilization solutions, including ethylene oxide (EtO), gamma irradiation, electron beam and X-ray technologies.

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