Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Trading Up 7.6% – Should You Buy?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE)’s share price rose 7.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.10 and last traded at $17.1650. Approximately 1,036,400 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,456,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on FTRE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fortrea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $15.00 target price on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $15.00 price target on shares of Fortrea and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.94.

Fortrea Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.82 and its 200 day moving average is $10.67.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $701.30 million during 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%. Research analysts predict that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Fortrea by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 39,944 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Fortrea in the first quarter valued at $196,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Fortrea by 10.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 282,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 27,746 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Fortrea during the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fortrea in the 1st quarter worth $65,000.

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.