Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Fortrea Holdings Inc. saw its share price increase from $6.39 to $6.89 after significant insider buying by Director Peter M. Neupert, who purchased over 62,500 shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on Fortrea, with Robert W. Baird upgrading their rating from "neutral" to "outperform" and raising their price target to $9, while others maintain a "hold" or "sell" rating.
• Fortrea reported an earnings per share of $0.19 for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations, and had a revenue of $710.30 million compared to estimates of $631.61 million.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $6.39, but opened at $6.89. Fortrea shares last traded at $7.59, with a volume of 238,046 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Peter M. Neupert bought 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $614,306.32. This trade represents a 49.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert bought 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.79 per share, for a total transaction of $203,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 65,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $445,641.28. This trade represents a 84.19% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fortrea from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortrea has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.30.

Fortrea Stock Performance

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 company's 50-day moving average price is $5.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.67. The company has a market cap of $730.03 million, a P/E ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Fortrea by 6,802.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Fortrea by 9,577.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fortrea during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000.

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.