Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Raised to “Buy” at Truist Financial

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) was upgraded by Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $22.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $12.00. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.51% from the company’s current price.

FTRE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Fortrea from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore ISI set a $25.00 price target on shares of Fortrea and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Fortrea from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.39.

Fortrea Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTRE opened at $17.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Fortrea has a fifty-two week low of $3.97 and a fifty-two week high of $19.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -1.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.20 and a 200-day moving average of $10.22.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $701.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.43 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 5.64% and a negative net margin of 36.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortrea will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 245.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 153,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after buying an additional 108,925 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Fortrea by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,781 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortrea by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 692,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,833,000 after acquiring an additional 274,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter.

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.