UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group raised Fortrea’s price target from $22 to $24 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying approximately 7% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: seven analysts rate Fortrea a Buy, three a Hold and two a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” rating and average target price of $22.80.
• Fortrea exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.23 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $0.18 consensus and revenue of $678.2 million versus estimates of $647.6 million.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.05% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on FTRE. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Thursday. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortrea currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.80.

Fortrea Price Performance

NASDAQ:FTRE opened at $22.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.93. Fortrea has a 52-week low of $8.55 and a 52-week high of $23.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average of $16.52. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 3.18%. The business had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. On average, research analysts expect 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 Fortrea 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 directly owned 316,797 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortrea during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Fortrea by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in Fortrea by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 9,675 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 5,647 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortrea in the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fortrea by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period.

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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