Key Points
- CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 Fortrea shares for approximately $1.91 million, reducing his direct stake by 23.97% to 316,797 shares. The sale was made to cover tax withholding related to vested equity awards.
- Fortrea shares were trading down 7.1%, opening at $17.69, despite the company beating quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.23 versus the $0.18 consensus and revenue of $678.2 million.
- Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Fortrea has an average “Hold” rating and a $20.75 price target, while institutional investors including AQR Capital, Vanguard and Goldman Sachs recently increased their positions.
Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
Fortrea Trading Down 7.1%
Shares of NASDAQ:FTRE opened at $17.69 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.44, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.99. Fortrea Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.07 and a 52-week high of $21.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.
Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.57 million. Analysts expect that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have commented on FTRE shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fortrea from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair upgraded Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 target price on Fortrea in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FTRE
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,331,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,710,000 after purchasing an additional 258,098 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortrea by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,272,597 shares of the company's stock worth $142,702,000 after purchasing an additional 293,992 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortrea by 494.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,515,124 shares of the company's stock worth $31,729,000 after purchasing an additional 5,419,842 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fortrea by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,110,899 shares of the company's stock worth $70,913,000 after purchasing an additional 39,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortrea by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,219,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,528,000 after purchasing an additional 565,891 shares during the period.
About Fortrea
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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