Short Interest in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) Grows By 7.4%

Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,670,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the March 15th total of 5,280,000 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 550,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Certara in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Certara in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Certara from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities began coverage on Certara in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Certara from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Certara Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Certara stock opened at $17.07 on Wednesday. Certara has a 1 year low of $11.81 and a 1 year high of $24.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62.

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $88.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.80 million. Certara had a positive return on equity of 4.33% and a negative net margin of 15.62%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Certara will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard M. Traynor sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 165,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,976,624. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick F. Smith sold 14,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.85, for a total transaction of $243,094.95. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,033.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard M. Traynor sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 165,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,976,624. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,427 shares of company stock valued at $405,095 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CERT. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Certara by 83.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 37,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 16,861 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Certara by 1.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 384,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Certara by 71.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Certara by 18.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Certara during the first quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.