Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on FTRE. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 price target on Fortrea in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.95.

Fortrea Stock Performance

Shares of Fortrea stock opened at $19.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Fortrea has a 52 week low of $5.26 and a 52 week high of $21.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.84.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $678.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.57 million. Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 3.18%. Equities analysts forecast that Fortrea will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortrea by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 36,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Fortrea by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fortrea by 9.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Fortrea by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Fortrea by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter.

Key Fortrea News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Fortrea to Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. Fortrea recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, adding support to the bullish view. Fortrea Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: FTRE was included in Zacks’ list of top momentum stocks and in its “Fast-Paced Momentum at a Bargain” screen, suggesting the stock’s recent advance may still appear attractive based on valuation and momentum factors. Best Momentum Stock to Buy Fortrea Momentum and Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial maintained its Buy rating on Fortrea, preserving a bullish Wall Street view despite the stock’s strong run. Truist Maintains Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: William Blair upgraded Fortrea to Hold, a modest improvement in its stance but not a bullish endorsement. Barclays also maintained its Hold rating, indicating that some analysts see limited near-term upside after the recent rally. William Blair Rating Update Barclays Maintains Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent comparisons of FTRE with other healthcare stocks and reports highlighting conflicting analyst views reinforce that investor sentiment is divided, which could limit the impact of any single rating change. Analysts Conflicted on Healthcare Stocks

About Fortrea

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.