Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock from an in-line rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $16.62, but opened at $18.12. Evercore ISI now has a $25.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $14.00. Fortrea shares last traded at $17.6570, with a volume of 315,216 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays set a $15.00 price target on Fortrea and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Fortrea from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Fortrea from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortrea has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortrea

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Fortrea by 48.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 39,944 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortrea by 181.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,095,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,269,000 after purchasing an additional 706,779 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Fortrea by 1,625.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,499,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,419,000 after buying an additional 3,296,461 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the first quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter worth approximately $196,000.

Fortrea Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.59.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $701.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.43 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 5.64% and a negative net margin of 36.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortrea Company Profile

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.