Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen set a $60.00 price objective on Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Freshpet from $70.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.47.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $81.26 on Wednesday. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $46.76 and a 12-month high of $111.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.80 and a 200 day moving average of $60.04.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 14.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 42,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during 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.