The Screen · Industrials · Specialty Business Services
First Advantage Corporation
FA · Nasdaq · USD · Market cap $3.5B · 9,500 employees
First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, digital identity, and verification solutions internationally.
FAIL · Does not pass the screen
20.52 USD
At the last full screen 2026-08-26
Screened 2026-08-26 · the tape above runs as of 22:12 UTC · 11 Sep · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
The Label · The Season, Not the Day
This name holds its distribution label.
First Advantage Corporation holds its Distribution at $20.52. The statistical read favours the buyers, held for 1 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-08-26
Phase
Distribution · caution
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the buyers, held for 1 days
Price at the screen
$20.52
Valuation
136.80 trailing · 13.63 forward price to earnings
Values screen
FAIL· score 70.0
Beta
1.17
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Debt ratio
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Permissible
Core business clean
Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending.
Pass
Debt load
54.49%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is 54.5% of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows.
Fail
Interest-bearing cash
0.00%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.0% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
14.01%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 14.0% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.00%
Below 5%
Only 0.0% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line.
Pass
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-08-26 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 40.4% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 8 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +34% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the analysts see meaningful upside from here.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-08-26 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Background checks grow but offer little value
Every time a firm brings on new staff the paperwork flows through screening outfits like First Advantage. The business clears an ethical screen and shows steady 9% revenue growth yet sits right at our fair value with only a 1% margin of safety. At the current price there is no real opportunity.
Forward earnings sit on a 15.6 times multiple while profit margins and return on equity both run at just 1%. Analyst targets cluster around 18 dollars, below the 22.35 share price, and the moat remains unknown. This leaves the shares looking fairly valued at best.
Low returns on capital and a thin profit line leave little room for error if hiring slows or competition rises. Currency moves and regulatory shifts in verification rules add further pressure. Analysis, not advice.
The risks · The things to watch: it carries a real debt load, which raises the stakes if revenue slips.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
FA trades on Nasdaq. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-08-28Markup$20.52-8.2%Entry 5
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 8.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 14%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 26%. The street (7 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $18.
2026-07-28Markup$22.35+35.5%Entry 4
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 35.5% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 14%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 26%. The street (7 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $18.
2026-07-18Markup$16.49+0.0%Entry 3
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 14%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 26%. The street (7 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $18.
2026-07-03Markup$16.49+0.0%Entry 2
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen (70). The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Markup$16.49Entry 1
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen (70). The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
