Zacks Research Upgrades Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) to “Hold”

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on FTRE. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fortrea from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank upgraded Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Fortrea from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Fortrea from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.23.

Fortrea Price Performance

NASDAQ FTRE opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Fortrea has a 52-week low of $8.55 and a 52-week high of $26.16.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $691.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.57 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 2.58% and a positive return on equity of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortrea will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Fortrea by 7,558.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 16,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 15,948 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Fortrea by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 30,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 10,501 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,539,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,091,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortrea by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 51,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 10,535 shares during the last quarter.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc. is a global contract research organization that provides clinical development and patient access services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports the development of medicines and medical products from early research through later-stage clinical trials and post-approval studies. Its services include clinical trial planning and management, clinical pharmacology, patient recruitment and engagement, data management, regulatory support and related consulting.