Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

FRPT has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.76. 63,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 582,079. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 169.47 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.68. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $68.14 and a fifty-two week high of $159.12. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.1% in 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 in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 3.2% during the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 23.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Freshpet by 13.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Freshpet by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during 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.