Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Trading Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)’s share price dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The company traded as low as $80.27 and last traded at $83.41. Approximately 597,218 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 1,235,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.05.

FRPT has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Freshpet Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.94 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

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.