Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $60.74 and traded as high as $66.75. Freshpet shares last traded at $66.05, with a volume of 840,797 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.25.

Freshpet Trading Up 7.1%

The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.82. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%. The business had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, CEO William Cyr sold 2,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total transaction of $200,337.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,697,917.60. This represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Walter George purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.92 per share, with a total value of $64,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,359,350.32. This trade represents a 1.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Freshpet by 606.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets refrigerated, fresh food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with animal proteins, vegetables and other ingredients and are designed to be stored in the refrigerator rather than on a conventional shelf.

The company sells its products under the Freshpet brand and related product lines, including Freshpet Select and Vital. Its offerings include refrigerated meals, rolls, recipes and treats formulated for different pet sizes, ages and dietary needs.