Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 59.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.93.

Freshpet Stock Down 5.8 %

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $100.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 106.65 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.55 and a 200-day moving average of $143.03. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $89.15 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $817,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,465,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 166.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 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.