Not a good buy right now for an impatient investor: momentum is still bearish (MACD worsening) and the stock is sitting on/just above near-term support (~15.80), where breakdown risk is real.
Wall Street sentiment has improved sharply (multiple upgrades and higher targets), but that optimism is not yet confirmed by improving margins/earnings in the latest reported quarter.
With insiders and hedge funds selling recently and earnings coming up (2026-02-26 pre-market), the risk/reward is not compelling for an immediate entry; better to hold/avoid until price reclaims key resistance (~16.70+) or fundamentals inflect.
Technical Analysis
Trend/Momentum: Bearish; MACD histogram (-0.187) is below zero and negatively expanding, signaling downside momentum is still building.
RSI: 32.5 (RSI_6) is near oversold territory, suggesting a bounce is possible, but it’s not a confirmed reversal signal.
Moving averages: Converging MAs typically indicate consolidation; with negative MACD, this leans toward a weak consolidation rather than a bullish base.
Key levels: Price (~15.82 post-market) is essentially at S1 (15.803). If it fails, next support is S2 (15.251). Upside levels to “prove” strength: Pivot 16.697, then R1 17.591.
Positioning/Sentiment: Extremely low put/call open interest ratio (0.11) implies bullish/less hedged positioning overall.
Activity: Options volume is essentially absent today (total volume 1; puts 0), so the “bullish” ratio is more positioning than real-time conviction.
Volatility: 30D IV ~109.6 vs historical vol ~52 indicates options are pricing elevated uncertainty; IV percentile ~72.9 suggests volatility is high vs its own history.
Takeaway: Options lean bullish on positioning, but lack of volume and very high IV suggest a choppy tape into catalysts rather than a clean upside signal.
Technical Summary
Sell
7
Buy
4
Positive Catalysts
can spark a reflex rally if support holds.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Capital flows: Hedge funds are selling (selling amount +182.65% QoQ) and insiders are selling (+105.42% over the last month), which is a meaningful near-term negative signal.
Weak profitability trend: Latest quarter shows worsening net income/EPS and materially lower gross margin.
Technical risk: If 15.80 breaks, next support is ~15.25; downside momentum (MACD) increases the odds of a support failure.
No supportive news flow in the last week: Lacks a near-term headline catalyst to reverse trend before earnings.
Financial Performance
Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $701.3M, +3.91% YoY (modest growth).
Profitability: Net income -$15.9M (down -43.01% YoY) and EPS -$0.17 (down -45.16% YoY), indicating losses widened.
Margins: Gross margin 14.7%, down -21.93% YoY, a key concern because the bull thesis relies on margin recovery.
Summary: Top-line is growing slightly, but the trend that matters (margin/earnings) deteriorated in the latest quarter.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: Ratings and targets have improved notably since early December, with multiple upgrades (Citi to Buy, Evercore to Outperform, Truist to Buy, Barclays to Equal Weight) and broad price target lifts.
Latest changes: TD Cowen raised PT to $15 (Hold); Mizuho raised PT to $15 (Neutral); Evercore raised PT to $25 (Outperform); Truist raised PT to $22 (Buy); Citi raised PT to $21 (Buy).
Wall Street pros view (bull case): Improving execution under new leadership, early commercial momentum, clearer path to margin recovery, and a better biopharma spending cycle.
Wall Street cons view (bear case): Some firms still sit at Hold/Neutral with ~$15 targets, implying skepticism that operational improvement will fully translate to sustained margin/earnings recovery in the near term.
Wall Street analysts forecast FTRE stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FTRE is 15.33 USD with a low forecast of 7 USD and a high forecast of 25 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
8 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast FTRE stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FTRE is 15.33 USD with a low forecast of 7 USD and a high forecast of 25 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
3 Buy
4 Hold
1 Sell
Hold
Current: 13.800
Low
7
Averages
15.33
High
25
Current: 13.800
Low
7
Averages
15.33
High
25
TD Cowen
Hold
to
Hold
upgrade
$7 -> $15
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
Reason
TD Cowen
Price Target
$7 -> $15
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
upgrade
Hold
to
Hold
Reason
TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Fortrea to $15 from $7 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the contract research organization space as part of a Q4 preview. TD generally expects solid Q4 prints and sees potential for 2026 outlooks to "represent a clearing event for operating conditions."
Mizuho
Neutral
maintain
$13 -> $15
2026-01-09
Reason
Mizuho
Price Target
$13 -> $15
2026-01-09
maintain
Neutral
Reason
Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Fortrea to $15 from $13 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated targets in the healthcare facilities and managed care group as part of a Q4 preview. Mizuho's physician survey indicated healthcare utilization growth trends decelerated sequentially despite easier year-over-year comps, which could indicate trend is peaking, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
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