Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target Raised to $180.00 at Oppenheimer

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $155.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

FRPT has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $150.00 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. Freshpet has a one year low of $68.14 and a one year high of $159.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 749.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 391.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after buying an additional 186,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after buying an additional 154,909 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,892,000.

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.