Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) was upgraded from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting increasing analyst confidence in the stock.
• Several analysts have also raised their price targets for Fortrea, with Jefferies increasing theirs from $7.00 to $9.50 and Barclays from $6.00 to $8.00.
• Despite a negative net margin of 37.57%, Fortrea reported a significant earnings per share of $0.19 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.06.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $9.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.17.

Fortrea Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FTRE traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.24. The stock had a trading volume of 154,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,221,118. The company has a market capitalization of $929.79 million, a PE ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $710.30 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortrea will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell acquired 9,854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $100,018.10. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,854 shares in the company, valued at $100,018.10. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert purchased 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $203,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 98,132 shares in the company, valued at $614,306.32. This trade represents a 49.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 72,354 shares of company stock valued at $507,168 and sold 10,311 shares valued at $94,635. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Fortrea by 6,216.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 59,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 58,307 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Fortrea by 960.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 117,122 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Fortrea in the first quarter valued at about $9,232,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the first quarter valued at about $119,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortrea during the first quarter valued at about $1,316,000.

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.

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