Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FTRE. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W lowered shares of Fortrea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Fortrea from $25.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Fortrea from $22.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Fortrea from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

Fortrea Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $681.01 million, a P/E ratio of -2.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $697.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortrea

In other news, CEO Thomas Pike sold 11,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total transaction of $203,274.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,884,018.72. This represents a 6.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 13,029 shares of company stock valued at $226,168 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Fortrea in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in 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. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Fortrea by 1,218.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortrea by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the period.

About Fortrea

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.