DA Davidson Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock

Key Points

• DA Davidson raised its price target on Freshpet to $101 and kept a buy rating, implying roughly a 49% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but positive overall: the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $75.94 (10 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell), while recent moves include Deutsche Bank cutting its target to $62 and Oppenheimer and TD Cowen raising ratings/targets.
• Shares traded at $67.76 (up ~4.6%) with a $3.32B market cap; the company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.64 vs. $0.43) and reported revenue up 8.6% year-over-year.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by DA Davidson from $98.00 to $101.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. DA Davidson's target price indicates a potential upside of 49.07% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Freshpet from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Oppenheimer raised Freshpet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Freshpet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen raised Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.94.

Freshpet Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of FRPT stock traded up $2.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.76. 484,568 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,607. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.49 and its 200-day moving average is $62.90. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $89.80.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimize Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position 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 valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 32.0% during 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 period. Finally, Ossiam grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 81.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.

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