Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.46 and last traded at $9.52, with a volume of 13945 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CERT. UBS Group raised Certara from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Certara from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Certara from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.92.

Certara Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Certara had a negative net margin of 8.34% and a positive return on equity of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $94.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Certara, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Certara

In related news, insider Leif E. Pedersen sold 51,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $578,318.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,658.16. This trade represents a 33.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick F. Smith sold 5,409 shares of Certara stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total transaction of $59,661.27. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,503.73. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Certara

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Certara by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Certara by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 77,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Certara by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 54,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Certara by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Certara by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 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.