Here's Why Freshpet (FRPT) Fell More Than Broader Market

Freshpet (FRPT) ended the recent trading session at $58.93, demonstrating a -8.89% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.37%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.84%.

Shares of the seller of refrigerated fresh pet food witnessed a loss of 17.69% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 11.01%, and the S&P 500's loss of 3.7%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Freshpet in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.09, reflecting no change from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $290.27 million, indicating a 10.26% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.28 per share and a revenue of $1.21 billion, indicating changes of -51.52% and +9.85%, respectively, from the former year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Freshpet. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 12.93% lower. Freshpet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Freshpet has a Forward P/E ratio of 50.73 right now. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 12.82.

Investors should also note that FRPT has a PEG ratio of 2.12 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Food - Miscellaneous industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.54 as of yesterday's close.

The Food - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 207, which puts it in the bottom 16% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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Freshpet, Inc. (FRPT): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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