Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target on Freshpet from $80 to $75 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive—10 Buys, 7 Holds and 1 Sell—with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of about $75.75.
• Shares traded at $65.22 (down ~2.1%) after the company reported a beat on EPS ($0.64 vs. $0.43) and revenue growth of 8.6% year-over-year; market cap is roughly $3.2B and P/E is ~25.4.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Bank of America from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.99% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $90.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded Freshpet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Freshpet from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.75.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of FRPT traded down $1.41 on Friday, reaching $65.22. The stock had a trading volume of 433,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,310. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a current ratio of 5.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.62. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $46.76 and a 12-month high of $89.80.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter.

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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