Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stake in Fortrea Holdings Inc. $FTRE

Key Points

• Ausbil Investment Management cut its Fortrea stake by 25.3% in the third quarter, selling 58,122 shares and retaining 171,704 shares valued at approximately $3.43 million.
• Fortrea reported quarterly revenue of $678.2 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.23, beating analyst estimates of $647.6 million and $0.18, respectively. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $0.85.
• FTRE shares opened at $20.56, while analysts hold an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $22.10; CEO Anshul Thakral separately sold nearly 100,000 shares to cover tax obligations.

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Free Report) by 25.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,704 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,122 shares during the quarter. Fortrea makes up approximately 1.7% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.18% of Fortrea worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fortrea by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Fortrea by 20.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Fortrea by 9.1% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 33,262 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000.

Fortrea Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of FTRE opened at $20.56 on Thursday. Fortrea Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.55 and a fifty-two week high of $23.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.84. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $647.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 price target on Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortrea from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.

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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