Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target to $78.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price target cut by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.06% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Freshpet from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark raised their target price on Freshpet from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.25.

Freshpet Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $66.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.62. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $89.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 86.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 734.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the first quarter valued at $247,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 220.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 1,388.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter.

Trending Headlines about Freshpet

Here are the key news stories impacting Freshpet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded Freshpet from Hold to Buy and set an $80 price target, citing sustained outperformance, contained competitive threats, and potential margin upside — a clear catalyst for buying interest. Freshpet: Sustained Outperformance…
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target on FRPT from $90 to $78 but kept an Overweight rating — still constructive but a modest trimming of upside expectations that can temper further rallies. Wells Fargo price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Mainstream market coverage is noting Freshpet in stock write-ups and sector pieces; that raises visibility but is largely informational rather than a direct fundamental shift. Freshpet Inc (CNN Markets)
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP issued an investor alert announcing an investigation into Freshpet, which can increase legal and reputational risk and put downward pressure on the stock while uncertain outcomes remain. Pomerantz investor alert

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.