Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price Down 9.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) fell 9.1% on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $70.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Freshpet traded as low as $52.22 and last traded at $53.7440. Approximately 702,006 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 1,529,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.12.

FRPT has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.56.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,803,713.20. The trade was a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 4,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,027 and have sold 235,262 shares valued at $11,664,591. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,822,000 after purchasing an additional 128,499 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Freshpet by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,179,000 after buying an additional 204,128 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after buying an additional 461,444 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Freshpet by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,738,000 after buying an additional 104,913 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,965,000 after buying an additional 61,198 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Down 8.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.18 and a quick ratio of 5.26.

About Freshpet

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.