Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Certara (NASDAQ:CERT) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $93.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.09 million. Certara had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 3.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Certara’s conference call:

• Second-quarter revenue grew 1% to $93.3 million, with software revenue up 4% and services revenue down 3%. Management reaffirmed full-year revenue growth guidance of 0%–4%, or $367 million–$382 million on a continuing-operations basis.
• Software bookings increased 9% in the quarter and trailing-12-month software bookings rose 8%, supported by Simcyp, Phoenix and Pinnacle 21. The company also reported a 27% year-over-year increase in pipeline and expects software revenue to reach at least the high end of its annual growth range.
• Certara is implementing a new commercial model, appointing Julien Perrier as Chief Commercial Officer and emphasizing specialist-led services sales. A May workforce reduction affecting about 5% of employees is expected to generate approximately $13 million in annualized savings, helping offset stranded costs from the divestiture and fund AI investment.
• Services bookings declined 6% in the second quarter, and management expects full-year services revenue to be at or below the low end of its 0%–4% growth range. Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was reduced to 29%–31%, while the company posted a $6.1 million continuing-operations net loss versus $1.5 million of income in the prior-year quarter.
• The board authorized an additional $50 million share-repurchase program after Certara completed a prior $100 million authorization. Management also highlighted growing cloud adoption, AI-enabled product development and partnerships—including NVIDIA—as longer-term growth opportunities.

Certara Stock Performance

Shares of CERT stock traded down $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $6.96. 1,816,245 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,687,242. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -69.58 and a beta of 1.44. Certara has a 1-year low of $4.45 and a 1-year high of $13.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.36 and its 200 day moving average is $6.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CERT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Certara from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Certara from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Certara from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Certara from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Certara in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.85.

Institutional Trading of Certara

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Certara by 50.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Certara by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Certara by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 56,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Certara by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Certara by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 45,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Certara Company Profile

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.