Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a sell rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FRPT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price objective on Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.00.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.5%

FRPT stock traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,488,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,121. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.07 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.39. Freshpet has a 52-week low of $71.00 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $263.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $265.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company's stock worth $15,945,000 after buying an additional 28,743 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company's stock worth $20,088,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company's stock worth $14,586,000 after buying an additional 6,776 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 406.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,066 shares of the company's stock worth $7,860,000 after buying an additional 42,587 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 176,912 shares of the company's stock worth $26,202,000 after buying an additional 30,549 shares during the period.

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.