Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SYK. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $386.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.37.

Stryker Trading Down 1.1 %

SYK stock traded down $3.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $357.36. 738,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,278,155. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $348.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $343.04. Stryker has a 1 year low of $249.98 and a 1 year high of $374.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.91.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Stryker will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,716. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,852 shares in the company, valued at $949,716. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 190,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $61,457,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,316,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,790,023.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 220,068 shares of company stock valued at $71,811,372. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the 1st quarter worth approximately $341,049,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 10.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,651,403 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,096,078,000 after acquiring an additional 813,311 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,541,845 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,755,782,000 after acquiring an additional 642,178 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 146.9% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 878,669 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $314,449,000 after acquiring an additional 522,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Stryker by 287.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 505,608 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $172,033,000 after purchasing an additional 375,166 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stryker

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.