Piper Sandler Cuts Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target to $160.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 56.18% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.64.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $102.45 on Friday. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $89.15 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.06 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth about $75,253,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after purchasing an additional 154,909 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.