Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.94 Million Position in Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Certara, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 600,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,064 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.38% of Certara worth $10,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Certara by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Certara by 2.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 23,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Certara by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 31,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Certara by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Certara by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CERT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Certara from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Certara in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Certara from $27.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Certara from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $24.50 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Certara from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.71.

Certara Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CERT opened at $14.61 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.84. Certara, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.81 and a 12 month high of $24.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -69.57, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Leif E. Pedersen sold 51,224 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total value of $747,870.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 128,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,881,691.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.60% 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. It offers medicines to patients using biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform drug discovery and development.