Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) PT Raised to $135.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $115.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $108.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.31. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $54.60 and a 1 year high of $117.76. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -152.94 and a beta of 1.23.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly 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. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The company had revenue of $215.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total transaction of $399,011.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,444,666.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total transaction of $399,011.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,444,666.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Freshpet by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,668,000 after buying an additional 32,178 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 216,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,754,000 after buying an additional 4,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000.

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.