Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock

Key Points

• Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group have raised the price target for Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) from $7.00 to $9.50, indicating a potential downside of 7.95% from the current price.
• The company reported earnings of $0.19 per share, exceeding expectations by $0.13, with quarterly revenue reaching $710.30 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant purchases by Director Peter M. Neupert, who increased his stake by 49.52%, acquiring shares at an average cost of $6.26.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $7.00 to $9.50 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

FTRE has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $6.00 target price (up from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Fortrea from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fortrea from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.50.

Fortrea Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ FTRE traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $10.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,482,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,287. The business's fifty day moving average price is $7.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Fortrea has a 52-week low of $3.97 and a 52-week high of $25.28. The stock has a market cap of $917.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.91.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 5.25% and a negative net margin of 37.57%.The firm had revenue of $710.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortrea will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other Fortrea news, Director Erin L. Russell purchased 9,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $100,018.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,854 shares in the company, valued at $100,018.10. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jill G. Mcconnell sold 3,156 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.23, for a total transaction of $32,285.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,217.10. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 23,235 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 176,159 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,046 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000.

Fortrea Company Profile

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.