Analysts Set Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) PT at $75.31

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.3125.

Several research firms have recently commented on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT opened at $75.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.67. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,495 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total transaction of $2,168,519.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 224,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,454,142.77. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 90,881 shares of company stock worth $5,598,918 over the last quarter. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,066,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1,031.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 931,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,905 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,234,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,050,000 after buying an additional 669,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 122.1% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,197,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,953,000 after purchasing an additional 658,114 shares in the last quarter.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.