Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Now Covered by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reaffirmed a neutral rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) with a target price of $70.00, down from $85.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock's previous close.
• Freshpet reported $0.33 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.12, although its revenue of $264.69 million fell short of estimates.
• The consensus rating for Freshpet among analysts is a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $109.29, despite varied opinions from different research firms.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "sell" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock. in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.29.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock traded down $4.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $57.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,198,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,431. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 86.23, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.81 and a quick ratio of 3.75. Freshpet has a one year low of $57.23 and a one year high of $164.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.40 and a 200 day moving average of $81.55.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Freshpet by 450.6% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 124.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock worth $20,060,000 after buying an additional 133,539 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Freshpet by 40.0% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,822,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Freshpet by 7.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Freshpet by 31.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 282,840 shares of the company's stock worth $23,524,000 after buying an additional 67,866 shares in 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.