Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Sell (D) Rating for Certara (NASDAQ:CERT)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "sell (D)" rating for Certara (NASDAQ:CERT), indicating concerns about the stock's performance.
• Analysts from Barclays, Craig Hallum, and KeyCorp have increased their price targets for Certara to $16.00, suggesting a more optimistic outlook despite Weiss's negative assessment.
• Certara reported a net margin of only 1.97% in its last quarterly earnings, missing earnings expectations, although revenue grew by 12.1% compared to the previous year.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Certara from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Certara in a research report on Monday, September 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Certara from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Certara from $17.50 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.63.

Certara Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:CERT traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.66. 1,006,616 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,989. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 253.25 and a beta of 1.45. 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 has a twelve month low of $8.64 and a twelve month high of $15.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.68 and a 200 day moving average of $11.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $104.57 million for 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 was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Certara will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Certara

In other news, insider Leif E. Pedersen sold 51,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.92, for a total value of $559,366.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,850.68. This represents a 40.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Certara

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in Certara during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Certara in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Certara by 50.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Certara in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Certara during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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