Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Stryker (NYSE:SYK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $442.00 price objective on the medical technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.28% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SYK. Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $421.90.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $373.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.59 billion, a PE ratio of 48.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $384.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $373.85.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Stryker will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stryker

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 49,884 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $17,961,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stryker Company Profile

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries.