Bank of America Increases Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target to $67.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Bank of America from $60.00 to $67.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.01% from the company’s current price.

FRPT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of Freshpet and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.63.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $62.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 5.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 11.44%.The company had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $320,500.86. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 30,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,379.14. This represents a 14.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 151.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,716,000 after acquiring an additional 893,949 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth $41,862,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,586,000 after acquiring an additional 753,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,630,000.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.