Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.83 and last traded at $17.7340, with a volume of 9744 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SHC. Barclays lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.80.

Sotera Health Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $311.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, research analysts expect that Sotera Health Company will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gtcr Investment Xi Llc sold 6,480,000 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.33, for a total value of $105,818,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,735,301 shares in the company, valued at $371,267,465.33. The trade was a 22.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 9,720,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 34,102,952 shares in the company, valued at $556,901,206.16. The trade was a 22.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,384,104 shares of company stock worth $471,824,511. 47.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SHC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Sotera Health by 55.9% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 4,020,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,712,000 after purchasing an additional 699,731 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Sotera Health in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,003,000. Finally, Voss Capital LP lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 50.0% in the second quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 750,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,340,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.