Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $20.19 and last traded at $19.7750, with a volume of 183436 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial set a $19.00 price target on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Fortrea from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Fortrea Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of -3.98, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $636.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.50 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 16.50% and a positive return on equity of 9.51%. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortrea

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTRE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Fortrea by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,331,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,710,000 after buying an additional 258,098 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortrea by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,272,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,702,000 after acquiring an additional 293,992 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 494.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,515,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,729,000 after acquiring an additional 5,419,842 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Fortrea by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,110,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,913,000 after acquiring an additional 39,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,219,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,528,000 after acquiring an additional 565,891 shares in the last quarter.

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.