Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $163.36 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.36.

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $146.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.45 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $82.16 and a 52 week high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 749.7% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 391.5% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after purchasing an additional 154,909 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,902,000.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.