Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target Raised to $90.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FRPT. Bank of America upped their price target on Freshpet from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Freshpet from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.47.

Freshpet Trading Up 3.9%

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $84.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.19. Freshpet has a one year low of $46.76 and a one year high of $109.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Freshpet’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $320,500.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 30,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,379.14. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,822,000 after purchasing an additional 128,499 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Freshpet by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,937,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,900,000 after buying an additional 162,293 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 41.5% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,586,000 after acquiring an additional 753,070 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,738,000 after acquiring an additional 104,913 shares in the last quarter.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.