Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Leerink Partners upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $9.04, but opened at $9.43. Leerink Partners now has a $13.00 price target on the stock. Certara shares last traded at $9.5850, with a volume of 298,535 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Certara from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Certara from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Certara in a research note on Friday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Certara in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised Certara to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Certara

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Certara in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Certara in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Certara by 66.7% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Certara during the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Certara Stock Up 5.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 138.04 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.28 and its 200 day moving average is $10.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. Certara had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $104.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $104.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Certara has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.450-0.470 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Certara, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Certara

Certara is a biosimulation software and services company that partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device developers to accelerate drug discovery, development and regulatory approval. The company’s platform integrates quantitative pharmacology, real-world evidence, artificial intelligence and machine learning to model and simulate drug behavior across a range of therapeutic areas and patient populations. By applying these mechanistic and data-driven approaches, Certara helps its clients predict clinical outcomes, optimize dosing strategies and streamline decision-making throughout the product lifecycle.

The company’s offerings are divided into software tools and consulting services.