Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.36.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FRPT. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective 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. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total transaction of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,351,949.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 22.7% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 3,657 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth $2,978,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $336,000.

Freshpet Stock Up 1.0 %

FRPT stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $145.17. 180,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,987. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $147.15 and its 200-day moving average is $137.10. Freshpet has a 12 month low of $82.16 and a 12 month high of $160.91. 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 (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. Freshpet's quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.