Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $25.98 and last traded at $25.5650, with a volume of 1,386,901 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FTRE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.80.

Fortrea Stock Up 6.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.45, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.66.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fortrea

In other news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTRE. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the second quarter worth approximately $41,488,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 643,000 shares during the period. Eagle Health Investments LP raised its holdings in Fortrea by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP now owns 1,307,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,317,000 after acquiring an additional 89,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Fortrea by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,241,000 after acquiring an additional 807,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Fortrea by 26.7% during the 2nd 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.

About Fortrea

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.