Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 3,362,101 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 92% from the previous session’s volume of 1,754,847 shares.The stock last traded at $15.21 and had previously closed at $15.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SHC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sotera Health to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sotera Health from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered Sotera Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on Sotera Health in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sotera Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.43.

Sotera Health Stock Down 4.1%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.85. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 56.00 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $303.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.68 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 42.38% and a net margin of 6.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.01 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sotera Health Company will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 434,104 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.45, for a total value of $7,141,010.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,184,104 shares of company stock worth $19,478,511. Company insiders own 47.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sculptor Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 21,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,658,200 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its position in Sotera Health by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 11,645,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,418,000 after buying an additional 3,735,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sotera Health by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,228,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,189,000 after buying an additional 2,756,583 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sotera Health by 1,206.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,864,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,523,000 after buying an additional 2,644,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sotera Health in the 4th quarter worth $45,278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

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.