Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Lifted to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

FTRE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Fortrea from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays upgraded Fortrea from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair raised Fortrea to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.10.

Fortrea Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTRE opened at $20.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.93. Fortrea has a 52 week low of $8.55 and a 52 week high of $23.51.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortrea will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at $6,069,830.52. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in Fortrea by 26.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 389,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,771,000 after acquiring an additional 82,059 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortrea by 6,010.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,666 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Fortrea by 22.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 10,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter.

Fortrea Company Profile

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports the development and commercialization of healthcare products across a range of therapeutic areas.

Its services include clinical trial management, study design, patient recruitment and engagement, data management, biostatistics, regulatory support, medical affairs and post-approval services. Fortrea also provides technology-enabled and decentralized clinical trial solutions intended to help sponsors conduct research across traditional and remote settings.

Fortrea serves customers internationally, with operations and clinical trial capabilities spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other global markets.