Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.3125.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.41, for a total transaction of $220,488.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 33,503 shares in the company, valued at $2,425,952.23. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Freshpet by 86.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after buying an additional 31,334 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 734.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 140.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,676 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $73.96 on Monday. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $46.45 and a 1 year high of $86.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a current ratio of 6.05.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.