Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Raised to “Buy” at Redburn Atlantic

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Redburn Atlantic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.55% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on FRPT. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $128.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.63.

Freshpet Stock Performance

FRPT opened at $130.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $54.60 and a 12-month high of $131.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.59 and a 200-day moving average of $95.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 726.10 and a beta of 1.24.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 0.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,322 shares of company stock worth $2,646,080 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Freshpet by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,588,000 after buying an additional 185,210 shares during the period. JANA Partners Management LP bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after acquiring an additional 110,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after acquiring an additional 17,678 shares during the last quarter.

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.