Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortrea from “hold” to “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $22.10.
• Fortrea shares opened at $20.84, up 2.3%, after the company beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.23 versus $0.18 expected and revenue of $678.2 million versus $647.6 million estimated.
• Institutional investors increased exposure to Fortrea, including Wellington Management’s new $41.5 million stake and significant ownership increases by Dimensional Fund Advisors and Renaissance Technologies.

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FTRE. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair raised shares of Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Fortrea from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortrea presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.10.

Fortrea Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTRE opened at $20.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.93. Fortrea has a 1 year low of $8.55 and a 1 year high of $23.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $18.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortrea news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,913,490.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,069,830.52. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTRE. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Fortrea during the second quarter valued at $41,488,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 807,081 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Fortrea by 81.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,432,709 shares of the company's stock worth $13,496,000 after purchasing an additional 643,000 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fortrea in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,990,000. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,070,000.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports the development and commercialization of healthcare products across a range of therapeutic areas.

Its services include clinical trial management, study design, patient recruitment and engagement, data management, biostatistics, regulatory support, medical affairs and post-approval services. Fortrea also provides technology-enabled and decentralized clinical trial solutions intended to help sponsors conduct research across traditional and remote settings.

Fortrea serves customers internationally, with operations and clinical trial capabilities spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other global markets.

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