Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, DA Davidson Analyst Says

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at DA Davidson from $183.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.13.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT opened at $155.27 on Tuesday. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $65.81 and a 1 year high of $157.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 174.46 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a current ratio of 4.50.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.72%. The company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% during the third 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,492,000 after buying an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 249,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,852,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter.

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.