Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s stock price traded down 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $93.88 and last traded at $94.65. 392,427 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,106,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Freshpet from $180.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.47.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.69 and a beta of 1.42.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,260,164.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Freshpet by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Freshpet by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 92 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.