Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

FRPT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.36.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $109.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.08. Freshpet has a 52-week low of $54.60 and a 52-week high of $117.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.34 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,668,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,588,000 after purchasing an additional 185,210 shares during the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after purchasing an additional 110,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,678 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.