Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.87.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.69. The company had a trading volume of 753,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.69. Freshpet has a one year low of $57.11 and a one year high of $145.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 265.56 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The business's revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet during the first quarter worth about $17,845,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 24.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company's stock worth $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,892,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth approximately $8,902,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 199.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,924 shares of the company's stock worth $11,462,000 after acquiring an additional 65,868 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.