Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $150.00 price target on the stock.

FRPT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.87.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $150.57 on Friday. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $65.81 and a twelve month high of $154.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.88 and its 200-day moving average is $129.30. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.15 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The firm had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.35) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 1st quarter worth $17,845,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $8,892,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $8,902,000.

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.