Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.87.

FRPT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Freshpet Stock Up 12.6 %

FRPT stock opened at $150.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.97. The company has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 301.15 and a beta of 1.39. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $65.81 and a twelve month high of $154.67.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. Freshpet’s revenue was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter valued at $17,845,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at $8,892,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at $8,902,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 199.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,462,000 after buying an additional 65,868 shares in the last quarter.

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.