Analysts Set Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Target Price at $75.31

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.3125.

A number of brokerages have commented on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, CEO William Cyr sold 2,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total value of $200,337.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,697,917.60. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Freshpet by 5.2% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,179,000 after buying an additional 204,128 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 5,652.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,420,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,361,514 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,829,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,291,000 after acquiring an additional 298,460 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Freshpet by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,738,000 after purchasing an additional 104,913 shares during the period.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $63.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a current ratio of 6.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.01 and a 200 day moving average of $62.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 1.66. Freshpet has a one year low of $46.45 and a one year high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The business had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets fresh, refrigerated food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other nutrients, and are positioned as an alternative to conventional shelf-stable pet food.

The company sells products primarily under the Freshpet brand, including refrigerated meals, rolls, recipes and treats. Freshpet products are distributed through grocery stores, mass retailers, pet specialty stores, natural and specialty food retailers, and e-commerce channels.