Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Fortrea has a consensus “Hold” rating from 12 brokerages: six holds, five buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $22.00, versus the stock’s recent opening price of $19.95.
• Fortrea’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.23 versus the $0.18 consensus estimate and revenue of $678.2 million compared with estimates of $647.6 million.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with UBS initiating coverage at “Neutral,” while Truist raised its price target to $26 and Weiss Ratings maintained a “Sell” rating. CEO Anshul Thakral also sold nearly 100,000 shares to cover tax withholding obligations tied to equity awards.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FTRE. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fortrea in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortrea from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fortrea from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Fortrea Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FTRE opened at $19.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Fortrea has a 12-month low of $8.39 and a 12-month high of $21.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.97.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $678.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortrea will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortrea

In related news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 22.3% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 9,675 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 5,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortrea during the 2nd quarter valued at $177,000.

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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