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

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $155.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT opened at $153.73 on Thursday. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $68.14 and a 1 year high of $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.73 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.55.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The business had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3.2% during the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 23.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 13.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter.

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.