Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Shares Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) were down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $16.46 and last traded at $16.7060. 387,499 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,679,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SHC shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sotera Health from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sotera Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Sotera Health Trading Down 6.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 1.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.03.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $324.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.86 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 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sotera Health Company will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In related news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total value of $2,826,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 334,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. This trade represents a 30.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $15,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,969,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,433,770.50. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SHC. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 27,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,250,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Sotera Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $428,635,000. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new position in Sotera Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $426,000,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Sotera Health by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,162,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Sotera Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $149,137,000. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Company Profile

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.