Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Price

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) had its price target upped by analysts at Barclays from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.23.

Fortrea Price Performance

NASDAQ FTRE traded down $1.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.25. 404,960 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,549,322. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.73. The company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Fortrea has a fifty-two week low of $8.55 and a fifty-two week high of $26.16.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $691.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.57 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 3.18%. Research analysts expect that Fortrea will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $1,913,490.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 22.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortrea in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Amundi raised its stake in Fortrea by 20.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Fortrea by 15.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares during the last quarter.

Fortrea News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortrea reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, ahead of analyst expectations, while revenue reached $691.5 million versus the approximately $671.6 million consensus. Earnings also improved from $0.12 per share a year earlier. Fortrea Third-Quarter Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA forecast to $210 million-$218 million, signaling better cost control and operating performance than previously expected. Full-year revenue is projected at $2.665 billion-$2.690 billion. Fortrea Raises EBITDA Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call emphasized the quarterly beat and improved EBITDA outlook, but investors are weighing those gains against Fortrea’s broader restructuring, execution and balance-sheet challenges. Fortrea Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite exceeding quarterly estimates, Fortrea’s revised full-year earnings guidance appears to have disappointed investors or introduced uncertainty about the pace of profit growth. The company still reported a negative net margin of 3.18%, and the stock’s elevated valuation following its recovery from its 12-month low amplified the reaction. Fortrea 2026 Guidance

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company helps clients plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the testing of new medicines and therapies from early-stage research through regulatory approval and post-approval activities.

Its services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, clinical operations, patient recruitment and access, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and regulatory support.