Freshpet’s (FRPT) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $150.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.95% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $128.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $138.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.47.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.9 %

FRPT traded up $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,641,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,675. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 709.56 and a beta of 1.36. Freshpet has a one year low of $54.60 and a one year high of $136.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $126.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.78. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 0.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.13, for a total value of $792,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,333.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,709,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,322,000 after purchasing an additional 47,862 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,689,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,602,000 after purchasing an additional 117,864 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 915,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,457,000 after purchasing an additional 245,403 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Freshpet by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 828,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,841,000 after purchasing an additional 54,656 shares during the period.

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.