Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 300,025 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 572,506 shares.The stock last traded at $143.50 and had previously closed at $133.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Freshpet from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Freshpet Stock Up 11.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.58 and a 200 day moving average of $128.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.05 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.69.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.86%. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at $17,845,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 141,615 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,892,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,902,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,462,000 after purchasing an additional 65,868 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.