Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) Short Interest Up 15.1% in February

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 8,825,205 shares, an increase of 15.1% from the February 12th total of 7,669,545 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,605,146 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,605,146 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days. Approximately 6.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SHC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Sotera Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upgraded Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Sotera Health in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.43.

Sotera Health Price Performance

SHC stock opened at $13.75 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $9.53 and a 1 year high of $19.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.05 and a 200 day moving average of $16.70. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.93 and a beta of 1.84.

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

Insider Activity

In other Sotera Health news, Director Gtcr Investment Xi Llc sold 10,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total value of $152,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,735,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,468,046.27. The trade was a 43.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 47.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Seas Capital LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $44,712,000 after buying an additional 699,731 shares in the last quarter. Voss Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 750,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,340,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Sotera Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,228,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sotera Health by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,471,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,282 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Sotera Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,179,000. 91.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.