Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.53 and last traded at $15.67, with a volume of 2215624 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FTRE shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Fortrea from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Fortrea from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Fortrea from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Baird R W cut Fortrea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.30.

Fortrea Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -4.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.21.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $674.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.86 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 10.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.00%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In related news, CEO Thomas Pike sold 11,268 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total value of $203,274.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,884,018.72. The trade was a 6.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTRE. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortrea by 5,021,169.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,125,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125,827 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 91.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,821,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,428,000 after buying an additional 2,304,677 shares during the period. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 86.4% in the third quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 1,097,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,944,000 after buying an additional 508,664 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP boosted its position in shares of Fortrea by 5.0% in the third quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 8,400,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Fortrea by 192.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 472,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,458,000 after acquiring an additional 311,018 shares during the period.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc, a contract research organization, primarily engages in the provision of biopharmaceutical product and medical device development services worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Clinical Services and Enabling Services. The Clinical Services segment provides across the clinical pharmacology and clinical development spectrum.