Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from a strong-buy rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

FRPT has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson set a $101.00 target price on Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.33.

Freshpet Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $54.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.74. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.86.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%.Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, Director Walter N. George acquired 1,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.57 per share, for a total transaction of $52,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,924.39. This represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacki Sue Kelley acquired 814 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $45,991.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,745.50. This trade represents a 7.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 6,008 shares of company stock worth $332,305. Company insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Freshpet by 41.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 41.5% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,586,000 after buying an additional 753,070 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter valued at $59,630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 278.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,444,000 after buying an additional 632,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engaged Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at $42,076,000.

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.