Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 515,911 Shares of Certara, Inc. $CERT

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Certara, Inc. by 13.6%, owning 4,295,566 shares valued at approximately $42.5 million.
• Certara reported quarterly earnings, missing the consensus estimate by $0.03, with a net revenue of $104.57 million, up 12.1% year-over-year.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Certara, with the average target set at $15.14, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,295,566 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 515,911 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 2.65% of Certara worth $42,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Certara by 218.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Certara during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Certara by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,208 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in Certara during the first quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Certara during the first quarter worth about $104,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CERT. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Certara in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Certara in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on Certara from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Certara from $17.50 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Certara from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.14.

Certara Price Performance

Shares of CERT traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,172,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,055. Certara, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.64 and a 12 month high of $15.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 210.04 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.41.

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