Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.36.

FRPT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total value of $399,011.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,444,666.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JANA Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the third quarter worth about $214,405,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,327,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,044,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 915,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,457,000 after purchasing an additional 245,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 211.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 345,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,836 shares during the period.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $105.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of -148.23 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.78 and a 200-day moving average of $86.03. Freshpet has a one year low of $54.60 and a one year high of $117.76.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. Freshpet’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.