Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $25.98 and last traded at $25.5650, with a volume of 1,386,901 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.43.

Trending Headlines about Fortrea

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortrea reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, ahead of analyst expectations, while revenue reached $691.5 million versus the approximately $671.6 million consensus. Earnings also improved from $0.12 per share a year earlier. Fortrea Third-Quarter Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA forecast to $210 million-$218 million, signaling better cost control and operating performance than previously expected. Full-year revenue is projected at $2.665 billion-$2.690 billion. Fortrea Raises EBITDA Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call emphasized the quarterly beat and improved EBITDA outlook, but investors are weighing those gains against Fortrea’s broader restructuring, execution and balance-sheet challenges. Fortrea Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite exceeding quarterly estimates, Fortrea’s revised full-year earnings guidance appears to have disappointed investors or introduced uncertainty about the pace of profit growth. The company still reported a negative net margin of 3.18%, and the stock’s elevated valuation following its recovery from its 12-month low amplified the reaction. Fortrea 2026 Guidance

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FTRE. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $21.50 price target on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair raised Fortrea to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $29.00 price objective on Fortrea in a research report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.95.

Fortrea Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.65, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.93.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $691.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $671.57 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortrea

In related news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Fortrea during the second quarter worth about $41,488,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Fortrea by 163.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,299,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,241,000 after acquiring an additional 807,081 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Fortrea by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,432,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,496,000 after buying an additional 643,000 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortrea during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,990,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,094,000.

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company helps clients plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the testing of new medicines and therapies from early-stage research through regulatory approval and post-approval activities.

Its services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, clinical operations, patient recruitment and access, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and regulatory support.