StockNews.com Upgrades Stryker (NYSE:SYK) to “Buy”

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

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $405.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Performance

Stryker stock opened at $364.19 on Thursday. Stryker has a 12-month low of $298.52 and a 12-month high of $398.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $138.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $375.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $357.47.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Stryker will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stryker

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYK. State Street Corp increased its position in Stryker by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,639,725,000 after acquiring an additional 215,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,484,893,000 after purchasing an additional 165,490 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 66,482 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $762,798,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.