Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised Freshpet from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $107.36.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $106.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.80 and a beta of 1.23. Freshpet has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $117.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.79, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.81.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. Freshpet’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,444,666.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total value of $399,011.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 valued at $1,737,280 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000.

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.