Freshpet’s (FRPT) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $150.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on FRPT. TD Cowen upped their price target on Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Freshpet from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of FRPT stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 753,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,772. The company has a current ratio of 4.50, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Freshpet has a one year low of $57.11 and a one year high of $145.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.38 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.64.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business’s revenue was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period.

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.