Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $107.36 Average PT from Analysts

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.36.

FRPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,709,007.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRPT. JANA Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,405,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Freshpet by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,545,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,519,000 after buying an additional 820,482 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,691,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,327,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Freshpet by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,075,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,344,000 after buying an additional 458,570 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.8 %

Freshpet stock opened at $104.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -147.45 and a beta of 1.23. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $54.60 and a 1 year high of $117.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.73.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.