Zacks Research Downgrades Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) to Hold

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on FTRE. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Fortrea from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.75.

Fortrea Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTRE opened at $19.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.99. Fortrea has a 1 year low of $5.82 and a 1 year high of $21.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. The company 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortrea will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter worth approximately $196,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 10.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 27,746 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000.

Fortrea Company Profile

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.