Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $12.33, but opened at $13.08. Certara shares last traded at $12.41, with a volume of 191,824 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CERT. Barclays increased their target price on Certara from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Certara from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Certara in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on Certara in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Certara in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Certara currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.79.

Certara Stock Down 3.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 1.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Certara

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CERT. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Certara by 839.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Certara by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Certara by 112.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Certara during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Certara by 48.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.