Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Trading 10.4% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Certara, Inc. rose by 10.4% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $13.24 before last trading at $13.49, although trading volume was down by 45% compared to its average.
• Wall Street analysts have given Certara a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $15.25, following recent price cuts and upgrades from various firms.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Certara reported a revenue of $104.57 million, marking a 12.1% year-over-year increase, but missed earnings expectations with $0.07 per share against the estimated $0.10.

Shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT - Get Free Report) traded up 10.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.24 and last traded at $13.49. 931,033 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 1,703,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CERT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Certara from $17.50 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Certara from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Certara from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Certara in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Certara in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.25.

Certara Stock Up 9.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 267.55 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $10.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $104.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.14 million. Certara had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 5.11%. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Certara, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Certara news, insider Leif E. Pedersen sold 51,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.92, for a total transaction of $559,366.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 73,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,850.68. This trade represents a 40.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Certara

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Certara by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 13,532,882 shares of the company's stock worth $158,335,000 after buying an additional 4,244,230 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Certara by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 6,114,895 shares of the company's stock worth $71,544,000 after buying an additional 443,206 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Certara by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,674,485 shares of the company's stock worth $66,391,000 after buying an additional 1,145,554 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Certara by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,460,630 shares of the company's stock worth $63,889,000 after buying an additional 1,165,064 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Certara by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,648,549 shares of the company's stock worth $30,988,000 after buying an additional 855,222 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Certara Company Profile

Certara, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides software products and technology-enabled services to customers for biosimulation in drug discovery, preclinical and clinical research, regulatory submissions, and market access in the United States and internationally. It offers solutions for model-informed drug development, as well as biosimulation solution used to predict both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.