Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.07% from the company’s current price.

FRPT has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.87.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $132.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 117,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,772. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $137.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.58. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $57.11 and a fifty-two week high of $145.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 263.76 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 released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.35) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.73 earnings per share 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 shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 41.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 13.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 65.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000.

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.