Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Major Shareholder Sells $1,458,108.73 in Stock

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) major shareholder Cetus Capital Vi, L.P. sold 67,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.71, for a total transaction of $1,458,108.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,126,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,877,313.66. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Forward Air Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRD traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.24. The stock had a trading volume of 480,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $851.25 million, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.35. Forward Air Corporation has a 1-year low of $9.78 and a 1-year high of $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.71.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FWRD. Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth approximately $666,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Jain Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,000. Finally, Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd boosted its stake in Forward Air by 122.3% in the 4th quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after buying an additional 467,482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Forward Air from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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

Forward Air Company Profile

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.