Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.60.

FRPT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Freshpet from $128.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.13, for a total value of $792,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,333.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $135.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 751.00 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.97. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $54.60 and a 52 week high of $140.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.45 and a 200-day moving average of $118.78.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 0.20% and a net margin of 1.19%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.35) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.