Piper Sandler Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $138.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Freshpet from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $130.25.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $132.47 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.51. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 735.94 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.97, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Freshpet has a 12 month low of $54.60 and a 12 month high of $134.30.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.43. The company had revenue of $223.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.43 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 0.20%. As a group, analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 6,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.15, for a total value of $786,742.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,337,585.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 13,560 shares of company stock worth $1,701,580 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $1,200,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth about $4,338,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth about $2,278,000. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $963,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,895,000 after buying an additional 42,973 shares during 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.