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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortrea from “buy” to “hold,” while broader analyst sentiment remains mixed; MarketBeat reports a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $23.68.
• Fortrea exceeded third-quarter expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.28 versus $0.22 expected and revenue of $691.5 million versus $671.6 million forecast.
• Despite the earnings beat, shares fell 8%, and the company continues to post a negative net margin; CEO Anshul Thakral also sold nearly 100,000 shares to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Fortrea from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.68.

Fortrea Trading Down 8.0%

Shares of FTRE opened at $21.29 on Friday. Fortrea has a 52-week low of $8.55 and a 52-week high of $26.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.93. The firm's fifty day moving average is $20.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $691.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $671.57 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 2.58% and a positive return on equity of 13.98%. Research analysts forecast that Fortrea will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortrea news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at $6,069,830.52. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Fortrea in the second quarter valued at about $41,488,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fortrea by 163.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,862 shares of the company's stock worth $12,241,000 after buying an additional 807,081 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 81.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,432,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,496,000 after acquiring an additional 643,000 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the first quarter valued at about $2,990,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000.

Key Stories Impacting Fortrea

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortrea reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, above the $0.22 consensus estimate and up from $0.12 a year earlier. Revenue of $691.5 million also exceeded expectations of $671.6 million. Fortrea Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast 2026 revenue of $2.665 billion to $2.690 billion and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $210 million-$218 million, signaling improved expected operating profitability. Fortrea Raises Adjusted EBITDA Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target from $23 to $26 and maintained an “overweight” rating, reflecting increased confidence in Fortrea’s valuation and earnings potential. Barclays Fortrea Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Fortrea continues to report a negative net margin, so investors may remain focused on whether the improved EBITDA outlook translates into sustainable bottom-line earnings. Fortrea Third-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Fortrea shares fell after the results, indicating that investors may have viewed the revised guidance, business outlook, or earnings quality as less compelling than the headline quarterly beat. Fortrea Shares Drop After Q3 Results

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 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.

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