12 Most Promising Small-Cap Stocks According to Wall Street Analysts

2. Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE)

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) is one of the most promising stocks. 

TheFly reported on February 27 that Baird reduced its price target for FTRE to $16 from $19 while continuing to assign an Outperform rating to the stock.

In its financial projection for 2026, which was released on February 26, Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) predicted total revenues of $2,550 million to $2,650 million. Additionally, the business expects adjusted EBITDA to be between $190 million and $220 million. The underlying premise of this guideline is that foreign exchange rates as of December 31, 2025, will not change over the course of the projection period.

The company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, which showed $660.5 million in sales for Q4 and $2,723.4 million for the entire year, were followed by FTRE’s projection. The company stated that a $797.9 million non-cash goodwill impairment was a major factor in the full-year GAAP net loss of $(986.2) million, while adjusted net income, which did not include such charges, came to $40.4 million. The year’s adjusted EBITDA was $189.9 million. At the end of 2025, the firm had $174.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, $1,066.3 million in gross debt, a $7,728.0 million backlog, and a trailing twelve-month book-to-bill ratio of 1.02x.

FTRE expects total revenues for the full year 2026 to fall between $2,550 million and $2,650 million, with adjusted EBITDA projected in the range of $190 million to $220 million. This outlook is based on the assumption that foreign currency exchange rates as of December 31, 2025, remain consistent throughout the year.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) is a global contract research organization providing clinical development, trial management, pharmacology, and consulting services to pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, helping advance therapies from early research through post‑approval.