Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $48.35, but opened at $51.00. Freshpet shares last traded at $49.5780, with a volume of 152,412 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FRPT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Freshpet from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.88.

Freshpet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.18. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 6.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.22% and a net margin of 17.63%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Walter N. George purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $109,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,774,283.82. This represents a 4.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total value of $2,056,103.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 204,585 shares in the company, valued at $9,803,713.20. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 4,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,027 and have sold 188,448 shares valued at $9,275,025. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 445.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter.

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.