Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $155.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.00% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $150.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.97. Freshpet has a one year low of $68.14 and a one year high of $159.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter worth about $54,000.

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.