Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price Down 7.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) fell 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $135.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Freshpet traded as low as $88.11 and last traded at $89.70. 1,268,571 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 1,170,024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.86.

FRPT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Freshpet by 5.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter worth $300,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Freshpet by 34.3% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 4,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Freshpet by 2.6% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 51,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Down 12.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 90.48 and a beta of 1.58.

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

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.