Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on FRPT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.7 %

FRPT stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.76. 63,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 582,079. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 169.47 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. Freshpet has a 1-year low of $68.14 and a 1-year high of $159.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.68.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Freshpet by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Freshpet by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.