Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $87.00 and last traded at $86.32. 179,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 691,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.67.

Freshpet Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.06 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $128.37 and a 200-day moving average of $138.60.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Freshpet by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after buying an additional 28,743 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after buying an additional 37,287 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Freshpet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after buying an additional 253,679 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.