TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Price

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.59% from the company’s current price.

FRPT has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freshpet from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.44.

Freshpet Trading Up 1.7%

Freshpet stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.34. 249,782 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,421,843. Freshpet has a 52-week low of $46.45 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 5.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter George acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.92 per share, with a total value of $64,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $3,359,350.32. This represents a 1.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,464,694.72. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,179,000 after purchasing an additional 204,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 11.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,829,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,291,000 after purchasing an additional 298,460 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth approximately $107,066,000. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,965,000 after purchasing an additional 61,198 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 9.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 917,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,103,000 after purchasing an additional 78,196 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets refrigerated, fresh food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other components, and are kept refrigerated throughout distribution and retail.

The company sells fresh meals, rolls, treats and other pet nutrition products under the Freshpet brand and related product lines. Its offerings are marketed through grocery stores, mass merchants, club stores, pet specialty retailers, e-commerce platforms and other retail channels.

Freshpet was founded in 2006 and is based in Secaucus, New Jersey.