Fortrea Holdings Inc. shares rose about 8.7% in morning trading on Tuesday after Barclays upgraded the contract research organization to Overweight from Equal-Weight and raised its price target to $23.

The stock reached an intraday 52-week high of $23.51 before closing at $22.95.

Barclays analyst Luke Sergott issued the upgrade as part of a broader positive view on the life sciences tools and services sector ahead of third-quarter earnings season. The analyst said he has increased conviction in Fortrea's near-term performance.

The Barclays rating change follows a recent upgrade from UBS, which moved Fortrea to Hold. The stock now has five buy ratings, six hold ratings, and two sell ratings from analysts.

Fortrea has made recent changes to its leadership team. The company reinstated Jason Knoblauch as chief financial officer in September. On October 5, Fortrea formally appointed Carrie Russell as chief accounting officer.

The company plans to release its third-quarter 2026 earnings on October 29.