Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 515,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,244 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.32% of Certara worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Certara during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,292,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Certara by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 997,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,821,000 after purchasing an additional 282,357 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Certara by 40.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,901,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,691,000 after buying an additional 1,128,006 shares during the last quarter. Daventry Group LP increased its position in shares of Certara by 153.0% during the second quarter. Daventry Group LP now owns 1,308,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,124,000 after acquiring an additional 791,405 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Certara by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 810,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,221,000 after acquiring an additional 62,912 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Certara Price Performance

Shares of CERT opened at $10.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.86. Certara, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.41 and a 1-year high of $19.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -53.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.14.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Certara news, insider Patrick F. Smith sold 5,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,503.73. This trade represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Certara 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.