Piper Sandler Reiterates Overweight Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by stock analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $150.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.84% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Freshpet from $128.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Freshpet from $138.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.25.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.62. The stock had a trading volume of 140,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,395. Freshpet has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $132.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 728.71 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.97, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $123.73 and its 200-day moving average is $106.66.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.43. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 0.20%. The company had revenue of $223.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.43 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 6,548 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.15, for a total value of $786,742.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $10,337,585.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,560 shares of company stock worth $1,701,580. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,650,000 after acquiring an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP purchased a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter worth approximately $214,405,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,576,000 after acquiring an additional 17,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,709,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,322,000 after acquiring an additional 47,862 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.