JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $154.00 to $102.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Freshpet from $180.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.67.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $86.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 92.31 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $134.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.31. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $80.27 and a twelve month high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The business had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Freshpet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,090,000 after buying an additional 46,844 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,809,000 after acquiring an additional 110,478 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 844,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,446,000 after acquiring an additional 9,081 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 810,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,065,000 after purchasing an additional 39,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $75,253,000.

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.