Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $163.36 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.36.

FRPT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $158.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.34. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $84.02 and a 52 week high of $160.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.93 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,962,175 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at $1,465,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 166.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 52,584 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 119.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,876,000 after purchasing an additional 37,702 shares during the period.

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.