Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $950,000 Position in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. made a new investment in Certara, acquiring 95,984 shares valued at approximately $950,000, increasing its ownership to about 0.06% of the company.
• Certara's stock recently traded down by 3.3% to $9.53, with a market capitalization of $1.55 billion and a range between a 52-week low of $8.64 and a high of $15.69.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Certara, with an average price target of $15.29, reflecting optimism following recent positive earnings reports.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 95,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $950,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Certara as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Certara by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Certara during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Certara by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Certara in the 1st quarter worth $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Certara Trading Up 18.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CERT traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.26. 3,450,222 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,054. Certara, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.64 and a 1 year high of $15.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CERT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised Certara from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Certara from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Certara from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Certara from $17.50 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Certara in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.14.

About Certara

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.