Robert W. Baird Cuts Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Price Target to $75.00

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) had its price objective cut by Robert W. Baird from $100.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson set a $101.00 price target on Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.47.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $49.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a current ratio of 4.81. Freshpet has a one year low of $46.76 and a one year high of $164.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.74.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%.The business had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jacki Sue Kelley bought 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $45,991.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,745.50. This trade represents a 7.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy R. Mclevish bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $196,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 35,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,240. The trade was a 11.01% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 6,008 shares of company stock valued at $332,305. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,223,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,455,000 after buying an additional 571,139 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Freshpet by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,921,000 after buying an additional 1,116,217 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Freshpet by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,616,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,590,000 after buying an additional 196,882 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,586,000 after buying an additional 753,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,527,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,780,000 after buying an additional 260,868 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.