Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Evercore

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) was downgraded by research analysts at Evercore from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FBRX. Wall Street Zen cut Forte Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Brookline Capital Markets downgraded Forte Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered shares of Forte Biosciences from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut shares of Forte Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Forte Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Forte Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.50.

Forte Biosciences Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of FBRX opened at $76.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 2.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.59. Forte Biosciences has a 1-year low of $9.10 and a 1-year high of $76.68.

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by ($0.08). As a group, research analysts forecast that Forte Biosciences will post -4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forte Biosciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Forte Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Forte Biosciences by 5,641.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Forte Biosciences in the third quarter worth about $161,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Forte Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Forte Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. 77.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Forte Biosciences News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Forte Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: argenx will acquire all outstanding Forte shares for $77 in cash, giving investors a clear deal-value reference and significantly repricing FBRX above its pre-announcement level. The acquisition also gives argenx access to Forte’s experimental autoimmune therapy FB102, strengthening its immunology pipeline. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The all-cash structure reduces exposure to biotechnology development risk for Forte shareholders, while the premium and strategic interest from argenx provide support for the current valuation. Proactive Investors article
• Neutral Sentiment: FBRX trading volume has been substantially above its average, consistent with merger-related positioning. A significant increase in put-option activity also indicates that some traders are hedging against deal or market risk rather than simply betting on further gains.
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-rights law firms, including Kahn Swick & Foti, are investigating whether the $77 consideration and sale process adequately protect shareholders. Similar investigations by Halper Sadeh, Ademi and Monteverde could create litigation, delay or renegotiation risk, although these announcements do not by themselves indicate that the transaction will fail. Kahn Swick & Foti investigation

About Forte Biosciences

Forte Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments to restore skin health by targeting the underlying biology of the skin barrier and microbiome. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Forte leverages proprietary platforms to discover and advance topical live biotherapeutic products and skin barrier therapies aimed at addressing serious dermatological conditions.

The company’s lead product candidate, FB-401, is a topical live biotherapeutic formulation designed to rebalance the skin microbiome in patients with atopic dermatitis.