Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $8.18, but opened at $6.33. Certara shares last traded at $6.9460, with a volume of 1,816,245 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $93.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.09 million. Certara had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 3.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CERT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Certara from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Certara from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens decreased their target price on Certara from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Certara from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price target on Certara from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Certara

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CERT. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Certara by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,489,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,933,000 after purchasing an additional 837,648 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Certara in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,130,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Certara by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,562,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,806,000 after purchasing an additional 175,024 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Certara during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,706,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Certara during the first quarter worth approximately $1,980,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Certara Stock Down 13.9%

The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -70.55 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.57.

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.