Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Sotera Health shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $18.82 and last changing hands at $18.65, compared with a 50-day average of $18.55.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive but mixed: eight analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $21.38.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while insiders sold about 1.29 million shares worth $24 million over the last quarter. Institutional investors own approximately 91% of the stock.

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.55 and traded as high as $18.82. Sotera Health shares last traded at $18.65, with a volume of 2,154,305 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SHC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Sotera Health from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sotera Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.38.

Sotera Health Trading Up 0.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.05.

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

Insider Transactions at Sotera Health

In other news, 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 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 $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 the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total transaction of $2,826,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 334,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528. Corporate insiders own 15.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sotera Health in the 1st quarter worth about $3,877,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Sotera Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,440,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Sotera Health by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,403,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,133,000 after buying an additional 166,055 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the first quarter valued at about $1,476,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the second quarter valued at about $428,635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company's stock.

About Sotera Health

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.

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