Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Major Shareholder Purchases $4,034,250.00 in Stock

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) major shareholder Cetus Capital Vi, L.P. acquired 225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.93 per share, with a total value of $4,034,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,388,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,759,552.37. The trade was a 7.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Forward Air Trading Up 1.6%

FWRD stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.24. The company had a trading volume of 480,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,223. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day moving average of $25.71. Forward Air Corporation has a one year low of $9.78 and a one year high of $32.47. The stock has a market cap of $851.25 million, a PE ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Forward Air by 26.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Forward Air by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its holdings in Forward Air by 12.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Forward Air from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Key Stories Impacting Forward Air

Here are the key news stories impacting Forward Air this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cetus Capital increased its stake in October by acquiring 225,000 shares at about $17.93 each (a ~7.1% bump to its holdings), which can be read as a vote of confidence from a major holder. Cetus Capital acquisition filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward Air is scheduled to report quarterly earnings soon, which is a routine catalyst that could move the stock depending on results and guidance. Earnings projection notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Public short-interest data shows effectively zero reported short interest and a 0.0 days-to-cover figure — this looks like an anomalous/empty data print and is unlikely to be a meaningful immediate driver. (No external article link available.)
• Negative Sentiment: Cetus Capital subsequently sold multiple blocks totaling roughly 302k shares across November (and an additional October sale), representing a several-percent reduction in its stake and proceeds of roughly $6M — heavy insider selling from a large holder can weigh on sentiment. Cetus Capital sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Market writeups flag fundamental pressure: analysis highlights that AI-related costs and other operational headwinds could compress margins and that Forward Air faces broader challenges beyond AI alone — this type of critique can prompt caution among investors ahead of earnings. Margin and fundamentals analysis
• Negative Sentiment: News outlets summarized the recent Cetus sell-off as several million dollars of sales (reporting ~ $5.94M), reinforcing headlines around insider selling that can pressure the stock. Investing.com summary of Cetus sales

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.