Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Stock Rating Cut to “Underweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 14th, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $17.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.85% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Sotera Health Price Performance

SHC stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,154,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,686,390. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Sotera Health has a fifty-two week low of $13.09 and a fifty-two week high of $19.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72 and a beta of 1.85.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 40.12%. The firm had revenue of $321.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Sotera Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sotera Health will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In other Sotera Health news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were 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 $6,297,816.36. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 3,969,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,433,770.50. This trade represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528. 15.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,877,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Sotera Health in the second quarter valued at about $1,440,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $20,133,000 after buying an additional 166,055 shares during the last quarter. Balefire LLC acquired a new position in Sotera Health during the first quarter worth about $1,476,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sotera Health in the 2nd quarter worth $428,635,000. 91.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.