Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,332,401 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 77% from the previous session’s volume of 750,817 shares.The stock last traded at $11.48 and had previously closed at $11.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CERT shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Certara from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Certara from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Certara from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Certara from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Certara in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.08.

Certara Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.67 and its 200-day moving average is $14.48.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $93.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.01 million. Certara had a negative net margin of 21.64% and a positive return on equity of 3.03%. Certara’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Certara, Inc. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Certara news, insider Patrick F. Smith sold 5,409 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,503.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Certara news, insider Leif E. Pedersen sold 51,224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $578,318.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,658.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick F. Smith sold 5,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total transaction of $59,661.27. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,503.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Certara

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Certara in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Certara in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Certara in the 2nd quarter worth $152,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Certara in the 2nd quarter worth $156,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Certara during the 2nd quarter worth $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

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.