Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Down 2.9%

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s stock price fell 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $124.86 and last traded at $124.89. 102,994 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 599,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Freshpet from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $128.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.76.

Freshpet Trading Down 3.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 663.04 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.97, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.43. Freshpet had a return on equity of 0.20% and a net margin of 1.19%. The firm had revenue of $223.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.43 million. Equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 6,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.15, for a total transaction of $786,742.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,337,585.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 13,560 shares of company stock worth $1,701,580 over the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Freshpet by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the first quarter worth about $41,000.

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.