Bank of America Boosts Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target to $67.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Freshpet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $90.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.63.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock traded down $2.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.17. 378,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,381,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a current ratio of 5.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.42. Freshpet has a 52-week low of $46.76 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $288.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $320,500.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,379.14. This represents a 14.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,921,000 after buying an additional 1,116,217 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,586,000 after acquiring an additional 753,070 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,527,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,780,000 after acquiring an additional 260,868 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 151.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,716,000 after acquiring an additional 893,949 shares during the period. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 23.2% during the second quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,264,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,967,000 after purchasing an additional 238,130 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.