Fortive Corp. (NYSE:FTV) shares fell nearly 2% in premarket trade Friday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight and cut its price target to $50 from $90.
The firm said the downgrade followed Fortive’s separation of RAL, with coverage initiated on RAL at Overweight. Analysts noted that both entities had fallen short of targets, but RAL offered clearer signs of near-term recovery.
Fortive’s organic growth had slowed to flat compared with its prior mid-single-digit run rate, with about 40% of revenue tied to government and healthcare spending. Morgan Stanley said the recovery path remained uncertain given U.S. policy risks.
While valuation for Fortive had already derated, offering downside protection, consensus estimates continued to model a return to 4%+ organic growth by 2026–27. The firm said this set up negative revision risk into 2026, likely keeping Fortive’s valuation depressed in the coming quarters.
