Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $142.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.93.

Freshpet Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $100.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.65 and a beta of 1.42. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $89.15 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at about $817,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after acquiring an additional 37,287 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter worth about $1,465,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 166.2% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,519,000 after acquiring an additional 52,584 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares during the period.

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.