Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Up 5.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Fortrea Holdings Inc. shares rose by 5.5% to $8.80, contrasting with a significant drop in trading volume, which was down 69% from the average volume.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with Goldman Sachs lowering their target price to $5.00, while Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock to "outperform" with a target of $9.00.
• Fortrea reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.19, significantly exceeding estimates, alongside revenue of $710.30 million, beating consensus forecasts.

Shares of Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) traded up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.84 and last traded at $8.80. 707,798 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,315,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Fortrea from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fortrea from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Baird R W upgraded Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.22.

Fortrea Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.27. The company has a market capitalization of $796.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.81. 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 (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.13. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 5.25% and a negative net margin of 37.57%.The company had revenue of $710.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. As a group, analysts predict that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortrea

In other news, CFO Jill G. Mcconnell sold 4,886 shares of the firm's 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter M. Neupert bought 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $203,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 98,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,306.32. This trade represents a 49.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,207 shares of company stock worth $61,325 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Fortrea by 6,802.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,660 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 9,577.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,871 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000.

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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