Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) Short Interest Up 19.4% in March

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 10,539,768 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 8,825,205 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,435,002 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 8.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair assumed coverage on Sotera Health in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sotera Health to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sotera Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gtcr Investment Xi Llc sold 10,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total value of $152,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,735,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,468,046.27. This represents a 43.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 55.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SHC. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Sotera Health by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 46,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Sotera Health by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Sotera Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 66,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sotera Health Trading Up 8.2%

Shares of SHC stock opened at $14.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.11 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.56. Sotera Health has a fifty-two week low of $9.53 and a fifty-two week high of $19.85.

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

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.