Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.70 and last traded at $86.92. Approximately 214,306 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 729,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.67.

Freshpet Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 93.79 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.52.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after acquiring an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares in 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.