Brokerages Set Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) PT at $73.60

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.4667.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Freshpet from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of Freshpet and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $320,500.86. Following the sale, the president owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,379.14. This trade represents a 14.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Freshpet by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,217 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 1,031.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 931,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,905 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 151.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,716,000 after purchasing an additional 893,949 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at $41,862,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 41.5% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,586,000 after purchasing an additional 753,070 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $84.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a current ratio of 5.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.72. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $109.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.