Insider Selling: Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) CEO Sells $1,913,490.04 in Stock

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $1,913,490.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,069,830.52. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Fortrea Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of Fortrea stock opened at $18.43 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.89. Fortrea Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.07 and a 52-week high of $21.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -20.25, 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $678.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.57 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 3.18%. On average, analysts predict that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FTRE. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 target price on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair raised shares of Fortrea to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortrea currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTRE. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fortrea by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 36,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Fortrea by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fortrea by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortrea by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fortrea by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 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.