Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Trading Up 7.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) shares increased by 7.9% on Wednesday, trading at $7.89, despite a significant decline in trading volume of approximately 90% from their average.
• Wall Street analysts show a mixed evaluation of Fortrea, with one firm lowering the price target from $7.00 to $5.00, while another upgraded their rating to "strong-buy".
• Fortrea recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.19, exceeding forecasts and generating a revenue of $710.30 million, surpassing expectations of $631.61 million.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) rose 7.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $7.90 and last traded at $7.89. Approximately 225,806 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,356,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Fortrea from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 price objective (up from $5.00) on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.30.

Fortrea Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $730.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 1.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $5.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.61.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $710.30 million during 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, research analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other Fortrea news, Director Peter M. Neupert acquired 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.26 per share, with a total value of $203,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 98,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,306.32. This represents a 49.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fortrea in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Fortrea in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 9,577.5% in 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. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Fortrea by 1,218.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Fortrea during the first quarter worth about $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.