Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT opened at $156.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 176.14 and a beta of 1.39. 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 12-month low of $68.22 and a 12-month high of $159.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.53.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5,447.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after acquiring an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $185,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 1st quarter worth about $811,000.

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.