Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Major Shareholder Sells 10,000 Shares

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) major shareholder Cetus Capital Vi, L.P. sold 10,000 shares of Forward Air stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.38, for a total transaction of $223,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,116,546 shares in the company, valued at $69,748,299.48. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Forward Air Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.24. 480,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $851.25 million, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.71. Forward Air Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.78 and a twelve month high of $32.47.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% in the fourth quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 467,482 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Forward Air in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,295,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Forward Air by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,347,000 after buying an additional 307,906 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 1,179.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 296,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 337,481.3% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270,065 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 269,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Forward Air

Here are the key news stories impacting Forward Air this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cetus Capital increased its stake in October by acquiring 225,000 shares at about $17.93 each (a ~7.1% bump to its holdings), which can be read as a vote of confidence from a major holder. Cetus Capital acquisition filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward Air is scheduled to report quarterly earnings soon, which is a routine catalyst that could move the stock depending on results and guidance. Earnings projection notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Public short-interest data shows effectively zero reported short interest and a 0.0 days-to-cover figure — this looks like an anomalous/empty data print and is unlikely to be a meaningful immediate driver. (No external article link available.)
• Negative Sentiment: Cetus Capital subsequently sold multiple blocks totaling roughly 302k shares across November (and an additional October sale), representing a several-percent reduction in its stake and proceeds of roughly $6M — heavy insider selling from a large holder can weigh on sentiment. Cetus Capital sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Market writeups flag fundamental pressure: analysis highlights that AI-related costs and other operational headwinds could compress margins and that Forward Air faces broader challenges beyond AI alone — this type of critique can prompt caution among investors ahead of earnings. Margin and fundamentals analysis
• Negative Sentiment: News outlets summarized the recent Cetus sell-off as several million dollars of sales (reporting ~ $5.94M), reinforcing headlines around insider selling that can pressure the stock. Investing.com summary of Cetus sales

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FWRD shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.