Psychemedics (NASDAQ:PMD) versus Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Financial Contrast

Psychemedics (NASDAQ:PMD) and Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Psychemedics and Fortrea, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Psychemedics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Fortrea	1	3	4	0	2.38

Fortrea has a consensus price target of $37.29, indicating a potential upside of 2.60%. Given Fortrea’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fortrea is more favorable than Psychemedics.

Profitability

This table compares Psychemedics and Fortrea’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Psychemedics	-18.39%	-48.68%	-26.77%
Fortrea	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

32.1% of Psychemedics shares are held by institutional investors. 24.0% of Psychemedics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Fortrea shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Psychemedics and Fortrea’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Psychemedics	$22.10 million	0.67	-$4.15 million	($0.72)	-3.53
Fortrea	$3.11 billion	1.04	-$3.40 million	N/A	N/A

Fortrea has higher revenue and earnings than Psychemedics.

Summary

Fortrea beats Psychemedics on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Psychemedics

Psychemedics Corporation provides testing services for the detection of drugs of abuse through the analysis of hair samples in the United States and internationally. The company offers screening and confirmation by mass spectrometry using industry-accepted practices for cocaine, marijuana, and PCP; amphetamines, including ecstasy, eve, and Adderall; opiates, such as heroin, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, and codeine; synthetic cannabinoids comprising K2, Spice, and Blaze; benzodiazepines consisting of Xanax, Valium, and Ativan; and nicotine, Fentanyl, and alcohol. Its testing results provide quantitative information that could indicate the approximate amount of drug ingested, as well as historical data that could show a pattern of individual drug use over a longer period-of-time. The company offers its services to employers for applicant and employee testing; and treatment professionals, law enforcement agencies, school administrators, and parents concerned about their children's drug use. Psychemedics Corporation was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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. The Enabling Services segment provides patient access and clinical trial technology solutions to customers that streamline complex randomization and optimize the trial drug supply process. The company offers delivery models that include full service, functional service provider, and hybrid service structures. It also offers phase I-IV clinical trial management, differentiated technology enabled trial solutions, and post approval services, as well as consulting services. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. Fortrea Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.