Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Buys Shares of 500,000 Certara, Inc. $CERT

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. has acquired a new position in Certara, Inc., purchasing 500,000 shares valued at approximately $4.95 million, giving it a 0.31% stake in the company.
• Certara's stock price is currently at $10.52, with a twelve-month low of $8.64 and a high of $15.69, and it has recently reported quarterly earnings missing consensus estimates.
• Analyst reports reflect mixed sentiments, with UBS Group lowering their target price to $15.00, while five analysts have given the stock a "Buy" rating and four have issued a "Hold" rating.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 500,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,950,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.31% of Certara as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Certara by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 5,671,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,150,000 after acquiring an additional 213,089 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Certara by 13.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,295,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,526,000 after buying an additional 515,911 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Certara by 7.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,793,327 shares of the company's stock worth $17,754,000 after buying an additional 117,089 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Certara by 29.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,011,471 shares of the company's stock worth $10,014,000 after buying an additional 227,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Certara by 4.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 916,299 shares of the company's stock worth $9,071,000 after buying an additional 39,289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CERT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Certara in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Certara from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Certara from $17.50 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Certara from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Certara Price Performance

Shares of CERT stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.92. 1,992,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,411. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $10.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 218.44 and a beta of 1.43. Certara, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.64 and a 1-year high of $15.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Certara 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.