Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (up from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fortrea from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Fortrea from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Baird R W raised Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortrea currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.50.

Fortrea Stock Performance

FTRE opened at $8.68 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.37 and its 200-day moving average is $6.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $788.14 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.88. Fortrea has a twelve month low of $3.97 and a twelve month high of $25.28.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $710.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 37.57% and a positive return on equity of 5.25%. On average, analysts predict that Fortrea will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell purchased 9,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $100,018.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,018.10. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert purchased 32,500 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.26 per share, with a total value of $203,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 98,132 shares in the company, valued at $614,306.32. This represents a 49.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 72,354 shares of company stock worth $507,168 and have sold 10,311 shares worth $94,635. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Fortrea by 9,577.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Fortrea in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Fortrea by 6,802.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Fortrea by 74.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Fortrea by 73.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,202 shares in the last quarter.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc, a contract research organization, primarily engages in the provision of biopharmaceutical product and medical device development services worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Clinical Services and Enabling Services. The Clinical Services segment provides across the clinical pharmacology and clinical development spectrum.