Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock Rated Hold in New Coverage at Needham & Company LLC

Research analysts at Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FRPT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.31.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $57.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a current ratio of 6.05. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $46.45 and a 1 year high of $86.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In related news, Director Walter N. George bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.92 per share, with a total value of $64,920.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,359,350.32. This trade represents a 1.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William B. Cyr sold 2,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total transaction of $200,337.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 49,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,697,917.60. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 171,636 shares of company stock worth $12,754,864 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Freshpet by 606.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 75.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter.

About Freshpet

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.