Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $7.45 and last traded at $7.55, with a volume of 1777450 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTRE has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price target on Fortrea in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Fortrea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Fortrea Trading Down 6.0 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $681.01 million, a P/E ratio of -2.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.34.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.18). Fortrea had a negative net margin of 10.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.00%. The business had revenue of $697.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas Pike sold 11,268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total transaction of $203,274.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,868 shares in the company, valued at $2,884,018.72. This represents a 6.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,029 shares of company stock worth $226,168. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTRE. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 41,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in Fortrea by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 185,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortrea by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fortrea by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 167,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter.

Fortrea Company Profile

Fortrea Holdings Inc, a contract research organization, primarily engages in the provision of biopharmaceutical product and medical device development services worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Clinical Services and Enabling Services. The Clinical Services segment provides across the clinical pharmacology and clinical development spectrum.