Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) shares experienced a substantial increase after Evercore ISI upgraded their price target from $7.00 to $11.00, resulting in an opening price of $9.79 compared to the previous close of $9.31.
• Insider trading activity showed significant purchases, with Directors Erin L. Russell and Peter M. Neupert each acquiring large quantities of shares, indicating confidence in the company's performance.
• Fortrea reported a quarterly earnings beat of $0.19 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $710.30 million, surpassing projections of $631.61 million.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $7.00 to $11.00. The stock had previously closed at $9.31, but opened at $9.79. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Fortrea shares last traded at $9.65, with a volume of 43,243 shares trading hands.

FTRE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Baird R W raised shares of Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of 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 given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell bought 9,854 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,018.10. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert bought 32,500 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly 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 90 days, insiders purchased 72,354 shares of company stock valued at $507,168 and sold 10,311 shares valued at $94,635. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Fortrea by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,043 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 74.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918 shares during the last quarter.

Fortrea Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $876.22 million, a P/E ratio of -0.85 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

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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