Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Trading Up 5.5% - What's Next?

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) shot up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $8.84 and last traded at $8.80. 707,798 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,315,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FTRE. Truist Financial began coverage on Fortrea in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Fortrea from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted 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. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fortrea from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.22.

Fortrea Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $894.38 million, a PE ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.18.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $710.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 5.25% and a negative net margin of 37.57%. Research analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortrea news, Director Peter M. Neupert acquired 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jill G. Mcconnell sold 4,886 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.01, for a total value of $39,136.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $438,707.70. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,207 shares of company stock valued at $61,325. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Fortrea by 6,802.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,831 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Fortrea during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Fortrea in the 1st quarter valued at $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.