Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Mizuho downgraded Fortrea to underperform, while raising its price target from $16 to $19; shares slipped below their 50-day moving average of $20.70.
• Analyst views remain mixed: Fortrea has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $24.23, with ratings ranging from strong buy to sell.
• Fortrea beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.28 versus $0.22 expected and revenue of $691.5 million versus $671.6 million expected.

Shares of Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Mizuho downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underperform rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.70 and traded as low as $20.36. Mizuho now has a $19.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $16.00. Fortrea shares last traded at $20.38, with a volume of 1,518,189 shares.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Fortrea from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. William Blair raised shares of Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Fortrea from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTRE. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Fortrea by 22.3% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fortrea by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortrea by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 20.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter.

Fortrea Trading Down 4.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.70 and a 200-day moving average of $15.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.92, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.88.

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

Fortrea Company Profile

Fortrea Holdings Inc. is a global contract research organization that provides clinical development and patient access services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports the development of medicines and medical products from early research through later-stage clinical trials and post-approval studies. Its services include clinical trial planning and management, clinical pharmacology, patient recruitment and engagement, data management, regulatory support and related consulting.

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