Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Trading Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) dropped 5.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $18.32 and last traded at $18.4740. Approximately 263,977 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,518,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on FTRE shares. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 price objective on Fortrea in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Fortrea from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Friday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortrea presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.75.

Fortrea Trading Down 2.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.92.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction 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 owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at $6,069,830.52. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fortrea by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,331,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,710,000 after buying an additional 258,098 shares during the period. Eagle Health Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Fortrea by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP now owns 1,218,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,020,000 after acquiring an additional 229,788 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,272,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,702,000 after acquiring an additional 293,992 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fortrea in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,990,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fortrea by 163.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,241,000 after purchasing an additional 807,081 shares during the period.

About Fortrea

Fortrea, Inc is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that provides integrated solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Established as a spin-off from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pharma Services business in October 2023, Fortrea leverages a legacy of scientific expertise and manufacturing scale to support drug development from early-stage research through commercial production. The company’s comprehensive offerings address the complex needs of both small-molecule and biologics programs, making it a single source for clients seeking to accelerate timelines and manage costs.

Fortrea’s core services encompass analytical and formulation development, process optimization, clinical and commercial manufacturing, and packaging services.