Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $109.58 on Friday. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $54.60 and a twelve month high of $117.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.79, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.34 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.64.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRPT. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Freshpet by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Freshpet by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,254,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,617,000 after acquiring an additional 73,393 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Freshpet by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,164,000.

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.