Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.6250.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $70.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 63,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.21, for a total transaction of $3,485,683.35. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 160,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,859,879.96. This represents a 28.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Freshpet during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $60.15 on Friday. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.11. The company has a quick ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 5.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.71.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $1.43. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 11.44%.The firm had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.