Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $77.15 and last traded at $79.49, with a volume of 1749998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.53.

Freshpet Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $110.68 and a 200-day moving average of $133.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.56 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Freshpet by 2.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 224.5% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at approximately $817,000.

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.