Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Earns "Sell (D-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Fortrea's stock has been given a "Sell (D-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, with other analysts providing mixed ratings, including a neutral rating from Citigroup and an outperform rating from Robert W. Baird.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.19, exceeding expectations, with reported revenue of $710.30 million against a forecast of $631.61 million.
• Insider transactions include a CFO selling shares while a director significantly increased their holdings, indicating varied confidence among company executives.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fortrea from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fortrea from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Fortrea from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.17.

Fortrea Stock Performance

Shares of FTRE opened at $10.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $919.80 million, a P/E ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.71. Fortrea has a 1 year low of $3.97 and a 1 year high of $25.28.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $710.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $631.61 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 37.57% and a positive return on equity of 5.25%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortrea will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fortrea

In related news, CFO Jill G. Mcconnell sold 3,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.23, for a total value of $32,285.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $601,217.10. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert acquired 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $203,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 98,132 shares in the company, valued at $614,306.32. The trade was a 49.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 72,354 shares of company stock valued at $507,168 and have sold 10,311 shares valued at $94,635. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fortrea by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,953,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,147,000 after acquiring an additional 69,005 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 494.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,515,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,729,000 after purchasing an additional 5,419,842 shares in the last quarter. Corvex Management LP lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Corvex Management LP now owns 4,474,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,785,000 after purchasing an additional 994,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 1,625.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,499,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,171,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,728,000 after purchasing an additional 589,145 shares in the last quarter.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc, a contract research organization, primarily engages in the provision of biopharmaceutical product and medical device development services worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Clinical Services and Enabling Services. The Clinical Services segment provides across the clinical pharmacology and clinical development spectrum.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.