Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Fortrea Holdings Inc. shares gapped down prior to trading, opening at $9.75 after a previous close of $10.07, and last traded at $9.71 with a volume of 236,872 shares.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Fortrea, with Goldman Sachs lowering their target from $7.00 to $5.00, while Robert W. Baird raised theirs from $9.00 to $14.00, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $11.50.
• Director Erin L. Russell bought 9,854 shares of Fortrea at $10.15, increasing their stake, while CFO Jill G. McConnell sold 4,886 shares at $8.01, indicating mixed insider trading activity.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.07, but opened at $9.75. Fortrea shares last traded at $9.71, with a volume of 236,872 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FTRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 price objective (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.50.

Fortrea Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $7.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $900.28 million, a PE ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.88.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.13. The firm 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, equities analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell acquired 9,854 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 9,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,018.10. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jill G. Mcconnell sold 4,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.01, for a total transaction of $39,136.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,770 shares in the company, valued at $438,707.70. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 72,354 shares of company stock valued at $507,168 in the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,953,261 shares of the company's stock worth $75,147,000 after acquiring an additional 69,005 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 494.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,515,124 shares of the company's stock worth $31,729,000 after acquiring an additional 5,419,842 shares during the period. Corvex Management LP increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 28.6% during the first quarter. Corvex Management LP now owns 4,474,898 shares of the company's stock worth $33,785,000 after acquiring an additional 994,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 1,625.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,499,220 shares of the company's stock worth $26,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,461 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 37.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,171,450 shares of the company's stock worth $10,728,000 after acquiring an additional 589,145 shares during the period.

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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