Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $157.80.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FRPT. StockNews.com cut shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total transaction of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 9,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,217 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Freshpet by 391.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after acquiring an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 24.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $8,892,000.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.1 %

FRPT opened at $153.05 on Friday. Freshpet has a 12 month low of $69.37 and a 12 month high of $160.91. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.49. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

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.