Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Reaches New 12-Month High at $125.50

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $125.50 and last traded at $125.50, with a volume of 56205 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Freshpet Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -168.89 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $215.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Freshpet news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $284,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,921,948.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Freshpet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,668,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,588,000 after purchasing an additional 185,210 shares during the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after buying an additional 110,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Freshpet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,576,000 after acquiring an additional 17,678 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.