Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from a strong-buy rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

FRPT has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.33.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $57.51 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.74. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $46.76 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a current ratio of 4.81.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Walter N. George acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.57 per share, for a total transaction of $52,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,527 shares in the company, valued at $2,445,924.39. This represents a 2.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy R. Mclevish purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $196,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 35,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,240. This represents a 11.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,008 shares of company stock worth $332,305. 4.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,586,000 after purchasing an additional 753,070 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth about $59,630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 278.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,444,000 after purchasing an additional 632,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engaged Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,076,000.

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.