Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $75.31 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.3125.

FRPT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $62.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.36 and its 200 day moving average is $62.45. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $46.45 and a 52 week high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The firm had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, CEO William Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 267,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,464,694.72. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 171,636 shares of company stock worth $12,754,864. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,179,000 after purchasing an additional 204,128 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 11.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,829,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,291,000 after buying an additional 298,460 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 30.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Freshpet by 7.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 5.0% in 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 period.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets fresh, refrigerated food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other nutrients, and are positioned as an alternative to conventional shelf-stable pet food.

The company sells products primarily under the Freshpet brand, including refrigerated meals, rolls, recipes and treats. Freshpet products are distributed through grocery stores, mass retailers, pet specialty stores, natural and specialty food retailers, and e-commerce channels.