Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Key Points

• Benchmark has lowered its price target for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) from $120.00 to $95.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 38.46% from its current price.
• Other brokerages, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have also reduced their price targets for Freshpet, with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.64.
• Freshpet reported a revenue of $264.69 million for the last quarter, marking a 12.5% increase from the previous year, despite falling short of analysts' expectations.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $95.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $120.00. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 48.48% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.64.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.98. The company had a trading volume of 870,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,358,319. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 95.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.77. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $63.61 and a twelve month high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.11 and its 200-day moving average is $89.82.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,630,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Freshpet by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,223,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,455,000 after buying an additional 571,139 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Freshpet in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,225,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 171.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 414,997 shares of the company's stock worth $34,515,000 after purchasing an additional 262,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,527,068 shares of the company's stock worth $103,780,000 after buying an additional 260,868 shares during the last quarter.

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.