Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.35 and last traded at $16.85, with a volume of 93029 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FTRE. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Fortrea from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Fortrea from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup downgraded 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. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortrea in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Fortrea from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.30.

Fortrea Price Performance

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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.37 and a 200-day moving average of $20.82.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). Fortrea had a positive return on equity of 2.00% and a negative net margin of 10.99%. The company had revenue of $674.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.86 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Fortrea’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas Pike sold 11,268 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,884,018.72. This trade represents a 6.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Starboard Value LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 8,400,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. raised its holdings in Fortrea by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 6,908,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,161,000 after buying an additional 158,044 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortrea by 5,021,169.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,125,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,519,000 after buying an additional 6,125,827 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,821,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,250,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,014,000 after acquiring an additional 233,577 shares during the last quarter.

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.