Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price was up 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $111.62 and last traded at $110.23. Approximately 241,628 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,016,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on FRPT. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.47.

Freshpet Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. Research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,090,000 after purchasing an additional 46,844 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,809,000 after buying an additional 110,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 844,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,446,000 after acquiring an additional 9,081 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 810,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,065,000 after acquiring an additional 39,129 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,253,000.

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.