Barclays Initiates Coverage on Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE)

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a neutral rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Fortrea from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. They set a neutral rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Fortrea from $43.00 to $31.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fortrea from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Fortrea Trading Up 2.7 %

FTRE stock opened at $26.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion and a PE ratio of -19.37. Fortrea has a 12 month low of $22.15 and a 12 month high of $41.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day moving average is $31.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $662.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $754.58 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortrea will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel James S. Hanson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.30 per share, for a total transaction of $50,600.00. Following the purchase, the general counsel now directly owns 7,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,117.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel James S. Hanson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.30 per share, for a total transaction of $50,600.00. Following the purchase, the general counsel now directly owns 7,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,117.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Pike bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.81 per share, with a total value of $248,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,687.87. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Fortrea by 311.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 78,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,165,000 after acquiring an additional 59,690 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,873,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,560,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortrea by 171.6% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 268,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,793,000 after acquiring an additional 169,882 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Fortrea during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,913,000.

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.