Truist Financial Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Truist Financial in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $140.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $170.00. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 35.14% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson lifted 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. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.47.

Freshpet Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded down $3.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.60. 342,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,875. 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 12-month low of $97.48 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $144.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 110.44 and a beta of 1.42.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 2,770.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $795,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 12.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period.

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.