Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) shot up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $87.00 and last traded at $86.32. 179,899 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 691,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on FRPT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer lowered Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.67.

Freshpet Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.01 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. On average, analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter worth $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000.

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.