Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Research Coverage Started at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FRPT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $72.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.31.

Freshpet Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $60.26 on Thursday. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $46.45 and a twelve month high of $86.00. The company has a quick ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.78.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Walter George purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.92 per share, for a total transaction of $64,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,359,350.32. This represents a 1.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William Cyr sold 41,022 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,464,694.72. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,179,000 after acquiring an additional 204,128 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Freshpet by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,829,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,291,000 after acquiring an additional 298,460 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,066,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Freshpet by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,738,000 after purchasing an additional 104,913 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,965,000 after purchasing an additional 61,198 shares during the period.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets refrigerated, fresh food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other components, and are kept refrigerated throughout distribution and retail.

The company sells fresh meals, rolls, treats and other pet nutrition products under the Freshpet brand and related product lines. Its offerings are marketed through grocery stores, mass merchants, club stores, pet specialty retailers, e-commerce platforms and other retail channels.

Freshpet was founded in 2006 and is based in Secaucus, New Jersey.