SYK STRYKER CORP

MIXED Impact: 1/10 ANALYST-UPGRADE
Processed 1mo ago SEC analyst-SYK-citizens-20251219
6 firms acted on SYK: Citizens, Rothschild & Co, Morgan Stanley, Wolfe Research, Goldman Sachs, Needham
Final — all horizons settled through T+60d
SYK ▼ -4.54% at T+60d
NEUTRAL call ✗ call lost -4.54% · α vs SPY -1.52% · entry $355.05 → $338.94
Currently $312.20 · -12.07% from $355.05 entry
Entry anchored
Dec 18, 03:59 PM ET
via Databento tick
T+1d
+0.33%
call +0.33% · α -0.32%
$356.22
settled 6mo ago
T+5d
-0.76%
call -0.76% · α -1.88%
$352.34
settled 6mo ago
T+20d
+2.09%
call +2.09% · α +1.36%
$362.48
settled 5mo ago
T+60d
-4.54%
call -4.54% · α -1.52%
$338.94
settled 3mo ago

Price Chart

Loading chart...

Executive Summary

Citizens upgraded Stryker (SYK) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on December 19, 2025, with a $440 price target, representing ~40% upside from the current $315.13. The action was part of a six-firm analyst cluster including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Needham, amplifying the near-term catalyst. Despite the bullish upgrade, Citizens has a poor track record: 38% accuracy on 137 calls with a -6.6% average return. Consensus is heavily bullish — 27 of 36 analysts rate Buy (75%), 9 Hold, zero Sells. The mean price target is $419.11, implying 33% upside. However, EPS estimates have seen three downward revisions in the last 30 days for the current year. Insiders sold over $6.7M in February 2026, and FMR trimmed large positions, though Norges Bank initiated a $1.8B stake and Renaissance Technologies doubled its holding. Short interest is elevated at 57.6%. The upgrade cluster provides a bullish signal but is undermined by weak trigger-firm accuracy, downward estimate drift, and insider selling.

Impact Score

Base Score
1/7
LLM Adjustment
-1
Final Score
1/10

Consensus & Targets

Buy / Strong Buy
27 (75%)
Hold
9
Sell / Strong Sell
0
Total Analysts
27
Mean PT
$419.11
Median PT
$420.00
High PT
$469.00
Low PT
$316.00
Current Price
$315.13
Implied Upside
+33%

Of 36 analysts covering SYK, 27 rate it Buy (12 Strong Buy, 15 Buy) and 9 rate it Hold. Zero Sell or Strong Sell ratings. This is a heavily bullish consensus with 75% Buy calls. The average price target is $419.11, median $420, high $469, low $316.

Current price $315.13. Mean target $419.11 implies 33% upside. High target $469 (49% upside), low $316 (near current). Citizens' $440 target is above the mean and median, ranking in the top quartile. The target range is wide, suggesting divergence among analysts on fair value.

Recent Analyst Activity

DateFirmActionRatingPrice Target
2026-05-01 JP Morgan maintain Overweight $400.00
2026-05-01 Evercore ISI Group maintain Outperform $355.00
2026-05-01 Wells Fargo maintain Overweight $418.00
2026-05-01 Needham maintain Buy $418.00
2026-05-01 BTIG maintain Buy $379.00
2026-04-15 Truist Securities maintain Hold $380.00
2026-04-14 BTIG reiterate Buy $397.00
2026-04-13 Leerink Partners initiate Outperform $410.00
2026-04-09 Goldman Sachs maintain Neutral $357.00
2026-04-07 Citigroup maintain Buy $385.00

In the last 30 days, there has been 1 upgrade (Citizens) and 0 downgrades. EPS revisions show a slight negative drift: for the current fiscal year, 3 downward revisions in the past 30 days vs 0 upward. Next quarter estimates saw 1 up and 1 down. Overall, estimates are being modestly reduced, which diverges from the bullish analyst action.

Firm Track Record — Citizens

Citizens accuracy: 38% on 137 calls | avg return: -6.6%

Industry benchmark: mean 51% ± 11%. Top tier: ≥61% (mean + 1σ). Based on 15 firms with ≥5 scored calls.

FirmAccuracyCallsAvg Returnvs Average
Piper Sandler 100% 3/3 4.8% top tier
Roth MKM 100% 2/2 0.9% top tier
UBS 100% 3/3 6.2% top tier
Baird 100% 2/2 4.7% top tier
BTIG 89% 8/9 4.6% top tier
JMP Securities 67% 2/3 0% top tier
Stifel 67% 2/3 2% top tier
Truist Securities 64% 7/11 1.3% top tier
Evercore ISI Group 63% 5/8 1.4% top tier
Barclays 60% 3/5 2.4% above average

Citizens has a 38% accuracy rate on 137 analyst calls, well below average for SYK coverage. Its average return per call is -6.6%. Best performers on SYK include Piper Sandler (100% accuracy on 3 calls, avg +4.8%), UBS (100% on 3, +6.2%), and BTIG (89% on 9, +4.6%). Among lower-tier firms, Goldman Sachs (50% on 2) and JP Morgan (50% on 2) show mixed results. Citizens ranks near the bottom.

Earnings Estimates

Next earnings: Jul 29, 2026

PeriodEPS Est.EPS RangeRevenueRevisions (7d)
+1q $3.46 $3.28 — $3.52 $6.6B ↑1 ↓0
0q $2.98 $2.86 — $3.07 $6.3B ↑0 ↓0
0y $14.96 $13.97 — $15.10 $27.3B ↑0 ↓0
+1y $16.74 $15.88 — $17.10 $29.6B ↑0 ↓0

Cross-Platform Signals

Insider Trades (90d)
0 buys / 3 sells
Institutional
FMR LLC — trim (-42.1%)
Institutional
NORGES BANK — new
Institutional
RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC — doubled (293.6%)
Short Interest
Short: 389,069 | Exempt: 12,070 | TRF Vol: 675,635 | Short Ratio: 57.6% | Off-exchange volume (dark pool + OTC)

Insider selling: Ronda E. Stryker sold $6.7M in shares in early February 2026, and another executive $175K. Institutional flows mixed: FMR LLC trimmed 42.1% and 28.1% in two recent filings, while Norges Bank opened a new $1.8B position. Renaissance Technologies doubled its stake (+293.6%). Short interest is high at 57.6% of volume, indicating bearish sentiment from short sellers. The convergence of analyst upgrades with insider sells and short interest divergence suggests caution.

Actionable Insight

The cluster of analyst upgrades provides a bullish signal, but the negative insider activity, high short interest, and downward EPS revisions warrant a wait-and-see approach. Traders should consider that the poor track record of Citizens and mixed cross-platform signals argue against chasing the upgrade immediately.

Documents Analyzed

Report based on filing metadata.

11 reports for SYK
Performance horizon
40% Hit rate 2 of 5 directional calls best @ T+5▲ +2.83%Apr 30, 2026
Filters
Rows
Reports for SYK — sortable, filterable
Type Now
Jun 13, 2026
today
ANALYST-UPGRADE
MIXED ★ 1/10
$339.19 awaiting T+5awaiting T+5$312.20 (−7.96%)
May 31, 2026
12d ago
ANALYST-UPGRADE
BULLISH ★ 1/10
$355.05 $352.34▼ −0.76%▼ −1.88%$312.20 (−12.07%)
May 29, 2026
14d ago
Insider Cluster
NEUTRAL ★ 2/10
$299.24 $305.66▲ +2.15%▲ +4.90%$312.20 (+4.33%)
May 29, 2026
14d ago
Insider Cluster
NEUTRAL ★ 2/10
$299.24 $305.66▲ +2.15%▲ +4.90%$312.20 (+4.33%)
May 13, 2026
4w ago
ANALYST-UPGRADE
BULLISH ★ 2/10
$347.00 $338.34▼ −2.50%▼ −5.79%$312.20 (−10.03%)
May 1, 2026
6w ago
ANALYST-UPGRADE
MIXED ★ 1/10
$355.05 $352.34▼ −0.76%▼ −1.88%$312.20 (−12.07%)
Apr 30, 2026
6w ago
Press Release
BEARISH ★ 8/10
$293.78 $285.47▲ +2.83%▲ +5.18%$312.20 (−6.27%)
Apr 30, 2026
6w ago
Court Ruling
BULLISH ★ 4/10
$313.85 $292.33▼ −6.86%▼ −8.58%$312.20 (−0.52%)
Apr 13, 2026
8w ago
Press Release
BULLISH ★ 7/10
$347.00 $338.34▼ −2.49%▼ −5.79%$312.20 (−10.03%)
Apr 1, 2026
10w ago
Press Release
NEUTRAL ★ 3/10
$329.40 $338.56▲ +2.78%▼ −0.98%$312.20 (−5.22%)
Showing 10 of 11

US Market Status

Market Closed — Opens Mon (50h 45m)

Subscribe to SecBot

Get Real-Time SEC Filing Intelligence

Comprehensive SEC filing analysis delivered the moment filings hit EDGAR. Sentiment scoring, impact analysis, and actionable insights for every material event.

Try SecBot Free Coming soon: SecBot Pro with alerts, watchlists, and API access