Insider Selling: Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Major Shareholder Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) major shareholder Cetus Capital Vi, L.P. sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.85, for a total value of $1,638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,313,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,404,541.65. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Forward Air Stock Performance

FWRD traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.24. 480,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Forward Air Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.78 and a 1 year high of $32.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $851.25 million, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FWRD. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 467,482 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $8,295,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 1,179.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after buying an additional 296,001 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 269,985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air News Roundup

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

About Forward Air

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.