Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FTRE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 target price on Fortrea in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair upgraded Fortrea to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Fortrea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortrea has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Fortrea Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Fortrea stock opened at $18.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.99. Fortrea has a 52-week low of $8.31 and a 52-week high of $21.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In related news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at $6,069,830.52. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Fortrea by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 39,944 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter valued at $196,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 282,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 27,746 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Fortrea in the 1st quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the first quarter worth $65,000.

About Fortrea

Fortrea, Inc is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that provides integrated solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Established as a spin-off from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pharma Services business in October 2023, Fortrea leverages a legacy of scientific expertise and manufacturing scale to support drug development from early-stage research through commercial production. The company’s comprehensive offerings address the complex needs of both small-molecule and biologics programs, making it a single source for clients seeking to accelerate timelines and manage costs.

Fortrea’s core services encompass analytical and formulation development, process optimization, clinical and commercial manufacturing, and packaging services.