Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading Down 5.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) traded down 5.2% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $62.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Freshpet traded as low as $54.56 and last traded at $54.53. 152,541 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,390,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.51.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on FRPT. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Freshpet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Freshpet from $65.00 to $48.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Eight equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, Director Walter N. George purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.57 per share, for a total transaction of $52,570.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 46,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,924.39. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacki Sue Kelley purchased 814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $45,991.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,745.50. The trade was a 7.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 6,008 shares of company stock worth $332,305 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 42,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Freshpet by 1.2% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 10.4% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Ossiam grew its holdings in Freshpet by 81.1% during the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 7.1% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period.

Freshpet Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%.Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.