Critical Comparison: CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) versus Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE)

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) and CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fortrea and CareDx’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fortrea	$3.01 billion	0.60	-$3.40 million	($1.39)	-14.45
CareDx	$297.08 million	4.75	-$190.28 million	($3.42)	-7.92

Fortrea has higher revenue and earnings than CareDx. Fortrea is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CareDx, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Fortrea and CareDx, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fortrea	1	7	3	1	2.33
CareDx	1	2	4	0	2.43

Fortrea presently has a consensus target price of $27.20, suggesting a potential upside of 35.39%. CareDx has a consensus target price of $28.80, suggesting a potential upside of 6.27%. Given Fortrea’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Fortrea is more favorable than CareDx.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fortrea	-10.09%	1.98%	0.78%
CareDx	-53.73%	-53.65%	-33.44%

Summary

Fortrea beats CareDx on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About CareDx

CareDx, Inc. engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic solutions for transplant patients and caregivers in the United States and internationally. It also provides AlloSure Kidney, a donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) solution for kidney transplant patients; AlloMap Heart, a gene expression solution for heart transplant patients; AlloSure Heart, a dd-cfDNA solution for heart transplant patients; and AlloSure Lung, a dd-cfDNA solution for lung transplant patients. The company offers Olerup SSP, which is used to type human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles based on sequence specific primer technology; QTYPE that enables precision in HLA typing; and Ottr, a transplant patient management software. In addition, it provides AlloSeq Tx, a high-resolution HLA typing solution; AlloSeq cfDNA, a surveillance solution to measure dd-cfDNA in blood; AlloSeq HCT, a solution for chimerism testing for stem cell transplant recipients; Allocell, a surveillance solution that monitors the level of engraftment and persistence of allogeneic cells for patients who have received cell therapy transplants; and XynQAPI cloud-based transplant quality management software, as well as AlloCare, a mobile app that offers a patient-centric resource for transplant recipients. The company offers its products directly to customers, as well as through third-party distributors and sub-distributors. It has a license agreement with Illumina, Inc. for the distribution, development, and commercialization of NGS products and technologies; and Cibiltech SAS to commercialize iBox, a software for the predictive analysis of post-transplantation kidney allograft loss. The company was formerly known as XDx, Inc. and changed its name to CareDx, Inc. in March 2014. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.