Brookline Capital Markets Downgrades Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) to Hold

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Brookline Capital Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FBRX. Barclays cut shares of Forte Biosciences from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Forte Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen downgraded Forte Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Forte Biosciences in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Forte Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Forte Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ FBRX opened at $76.65 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 2.85. Forte Biosciences has a 1 year low of $9.10 and a 1 year high of $76.68.

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.08). On average, research analysts anticipate that Forte Biosciences will post -4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Forte Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Forte Biosciences by 5,641.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Forte Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $161,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Forte Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Forte Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 77.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Forte Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Forte Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: argenx will acquire all outstanding Forte shares for $77 in cash, giving investors a clear deal-value reference and significantly repricing FBRX above its pre-announcement level. The acquisition also gives argenx access to Forte’s experimental autoimmune therapy FB102, strengthening its immunology pipeline. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The all-cash structure reduces exposure to biotechnology development risk for Forte shareholders, while the premium and strategic interest from argenx provide support for the current valuation. Proactive Investors article
• Neutral Sentiment: FBRX trading volume has been substantially above its average, consistent with merger-related positioning. A significant increase in put-option activity also indicates that some traders are hedging against deal or market risk rather than simply betting on further gains.
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-rights law firms, including Kahn Swick & Foti, are investigating whether the $77 consideration and sale process adequately protect shareholders. Similar investigations by Halper Sadeh, Ademi and Monteverde could create litigation, delay or renegotiation risk, although these announcements do not by themselves indicate that the transaction will fail. Kahn Swick & Foti investigation

About Forte Biosciences

Forte Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments to restore skin health by targeting the underlying biology of the skin barrier and microbiome. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Forte leverages proprietary platforms to discover and advance topical live biotherapeutic products and skin barrier therapies aimed at addressing serious dermatological conditions.

The company’s lead product candidate, FB-401, is a topical live biotherapeutic formulation designed to rebalance the skin microbiome in patients with atopic dermatitis.