Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target Increased to $140.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $124.00 to $140.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $138.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Freshpet from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Freshpet to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $119.71.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $120.70 on Tuesday. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $54.60 and a 1 year high of $127.25. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -170.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.64 and a 200-day moving average of $90.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total value of $399,011.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,444,666.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,668,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,588,000 after purchasing an additional 185,210 shares in the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter valued at $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after purchasing an additional 110,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,678 shares in the last quarter.

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.