Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

SHC has been the subject of a number of other reports. William Blair began coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Sotera Health from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on Sotera Health from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.80.

Sotera Health Price Performance

SHC opened at $17.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.11 and a beta of 1.82. Sotera Health has a 52-week low of $9.53 and a 52-week high of $17.94.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $311.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.63 million. Sotera Health had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 43.69%. Sotera Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sotera Health will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sotera Health

In other Sotera Health news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 9,720,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.33, for a total transaction of $158,727,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,102,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,901,206.16. This trade represents a 22.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 434,104 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.45, for a total transaction of $7,141,010.80. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 29,384,104 shares of company stock valued at $471,824,511 over the last quarter. 47.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Sotera Health by 112.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sotera Health by 124.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sotera Health by 831.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 33.1% in the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 117.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sotera Health

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.