Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Fortrea has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock's future performance.
• Analysts' price targets for Fortrea vary, with Robert W. Baird raising their target to $14.00, while Barclays retains a more conservative target of $6.00.
• Insider buying activity has increased, with Directors Erin L. Russell and Peter M. Neupert acquiring a combined total of over 42,000 shares, signaling confidence in the company's prospects.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fortrea from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 price target (up from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Fortrea from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Baird R W raised Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Fortrea from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Fortrea Price Performance

NASDAQ:FTRE traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,053,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,704,853. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.72. The company has a market capitalization of $788.14 million, a P/E ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.91. 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 twelve month low of $3.97 and a twelve month high of $25.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortrea news, Director Erin L. Russell bought 9,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert bought 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, with a total value of $203,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 98,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,306.32. This represents a 49.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 72,354 shares of company stock worth $507,168 and sold 10,311 shares worth $94,635. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTRE. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Fortrea in the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 255,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,756,000 after acquiring an additional 5,691 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 6,216.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 59,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 58,307 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 960.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 117,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,232,000.

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.

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