Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading Down 3.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) fell 3.2% during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $145.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Freshpet traded as low as $85.42 and last traded at $85.95. 183,862 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,450,447 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.76.

FRPT has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.67.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 1,272 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,678,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.73 and a beta of 1.58.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.