Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 38.9% in October

Key Points

• Fortrea’s short interest fell 38.9% in October to 7.68 million shares, though 8.1% of outstanding shares remain sold short.
• The company exceeded third-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.28 versus $0.22 expected and revenue of $691.5 million versus $671.6 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but improving: Fortrea has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $23.68, while Citigroup and Barclays recently raised their targets to $27 and $26, respectively.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,675,846 shares, a drop of 38.9% from the September 30th total of 12,564,688 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,888,678 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 8.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Fortrea Stock Down 8.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FTRE opened at $21.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.74. Fortrea has a 12-month low of $8.55 and a 12-month high of $26.16.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $691.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.57 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 13.98% and a negative net margin of 2.58%. As a group, analysts expect that Fortrea will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FTRE. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair upgraded Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Fortrea from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $21.50 price objective on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Fortrea from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.68.

More Fortrea News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortrea reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, above the $0.22 consensus estimate and up from $0.12 a year earlier. Revenue of $691.5 million also exceeded expectations of $671.6 million. Fortrea Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast 2026 revenue of $2.665 billion to $2.690 billion and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $210 million-$218 million, signaling improved expected operating profitability. Fortrea Raises Adjusted EBITDA Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target from $23 to $26 and maintained an “overweight” rating, reflecting increased confidence in Fortrea’s valuation and earnings potential. Barclays Fortrea Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Fortrea continues to report a negative net margin, so investors may remain focused on whether the improved EBITDA outlook translates into sustainable bottom-line earnings. Fortrea Third-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Fortrea shares fell after the results, indicating that investors may have viewed the revised guidance, business outlook, or earnings quality as less compelling than the headline quarterly beat. Fortrea Shares Drop After Q3 Results

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortrea news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $1,913,490.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FTRE. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the second quarter valued at $41,488,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Fortrea by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,432,709 shares of the company's stock worth $13,496,000 after buying an additional 643,000 shares during the period. Eagle Health Investments LP boosted its stake in Fortrea by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP now owns 1,307,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,317,000 after purchasing an additional 89,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 163.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,862 shares of the company's stock worth $12,241,000 after buying an additional 807,081 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 26.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 389,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,771,000 after acquiring an additional 82,059 shares during the period.

Fortrea Company Profile

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company helps clients plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the testing of new medicines and therapies from early-stage research through regulatory approval and post-approval activities.

Its services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, clinical operations, patient recruitment and access, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and regulatory support.

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