Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $77.15 and last traded at $79.49, with a volume of 1749998 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.53.

Freshpet Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.56 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

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

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Freshpet by 2.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 224.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth about $656,000.

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.