Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS upgraded Fortrea to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $22.00 price target. Ratings include five Buys, six Holds, and one Sell.
• Fortrea reported quarterly EPS of $0.23, exceeding the $0.18 consensus estimate, while revenue of $678.2 million also surpassed expectations of $647.6 million.
• The stock opened at $19.95, near its 52-week high of $21.39. CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares for about $1.9 million to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. William Blair raised Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Fortrea from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortrea presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Fortrea Stock Performance

NASDAQ FTRE opened at $19.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.97. 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 has a 52-week low of $8.39 and a 52-week high of $21.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.46.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $647.57 million. On average, research analysts predict that Fortrea will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity 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 value of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortrea by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,272,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,702,000 after purchasing an additional 293,992 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82,059 shares during the period. Eagle Health Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 7.3% in the first quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP now owns 1,307,560 shares of the company's stock worth $12,317,000 after purchasing an additional 89,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Fortrea by 90.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 173,129 shares of the company's stock worth $3,012,000 after buying an additional 82,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the first quarter worth $2,990,000.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc NASDAQ: FTRE is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides clinical development and related services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports sponsors as they plan, manage and evaluate clinical studies designed to bring new medicines and therapies to market.

Fortrea's services span clinical trial management, patient recruitment and engagement, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, regulatory support and clinical pharmacology.

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