Freshpet, Inc. stock analysis
Everything behind the call on Freshpet, Inc. 6 sections, ordered the way risk stacks up: survival first, quality and price in the middle, context last. The Beacon gives you the read. This is where you check the work.
Event and Street are pulling against each other and the split is genuine rather than a formality. The net lands at +2 over 30d, a balanced reading on a dispersion of 0.48, which makes this a question of size rather than of direction.
median target $84
200-day $63.76 · -9.2%
cohort P(beat) 64% · n=45,258
FCF yield 0.44%
worst drawdown -45%
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.
Tape 2026-09-25
Factors 2026-09-25
Survival & solvency
Altman-Z of 3.8 against a 3.0 safe threshold, interest covered 5.4×, and 3 of 5 forensic checks clear.
Business quality
13% net margin, 12% return on equity, +13% revenue growth, and capital earning 5% against a 7% cost.
No dividend is declared, so nothing here contributes to total return except the price. That is a fact about the security, not a criticism of it.
Price & timing
Price $57.91, 29.5× forward earnings, RSI 24, and dealers short gamma.
Follow the solid line: each point is a session close. Compare it to the 50-day average — while price stays above it the short-term trend is up, and a drop below is the first structural warning.
The dashed levels are the strikes the options chain is most committed to. They are the same numbers the gamma block states; nothing here is drawn that no section derives.
Historically, names tripping 1 validated red flag finished lower 12 months later in 50% of cases (n=13,076) — a survivor-biased floor, not a forecast.
Entry $57.62 · stop $53.02 · target $66.10, a 1.84:1 ratio. The composer flagged: fair-value reference, gamma ceiling.
Dealers hedge in the same direction as the move, so swings get bigger both ways rather than one. That argues for a smaller position size, not for a direction.
Ownership & flow
Institutions hold 134%, short interest is 16.15% of float, and 14 analysts average $84.
Independent factors scored and netted to +2 over 30d, a balanced reading. 5 of 9 factors carried a direction; the others scored zero and do not vote. The signal describes where the data leans, not what to do about it.
Descriptive only — a decorrelated read of where the evidence agrees and conflicts, not a forecast and not advice. Patterns are condition lists, not outcome predictions, and are not yet validated to the proof bar. Dispersion of 0.48 means the disagreement is a genuine split.
2 of 6 disclosures are buys and 4 are sales. Lawmakers disclose on a 30–45 day legal lag, so this describes what was done weeks ago, not what is being done now.
Risk & track record
Beta 0.47, 21% annual volatility, a -45% worst drawdown, and 3 of 8 risk surfaces clear.
Ranked by the size of each factor's own point contribution to the net signal — these are the model's stated reasons, not a written bear case. Each one is scored from the source named beside it.
8 surfaces checked, 3 clear. The binding constraint is position size — the tail cap is the one that binds. Each row states which surface it is and what it measured; a surface that could not be scored says so rather than counting as clear.
The wider context
5 mapped peers, 1 connection.
Look-back returns describe what happened, not what is likely. They are here to set the scale a future move would be measured on.
Bankruptcy-risk score. Above 3.0 is the safe band.
Nine pass/fail health tests; 7 or more is strong.
Accrual and growth pattern screen. Clear below −2.22, watch to −1.78, elevated above; a year of very fast revenue growth lifts it by construction.
Standard deviations of asset value between the company and its debt.
Default frequency calibrated on what actually happened to similar names.
Momentum gauge 0–100. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
Average true range — the size of a typical day.
20-day volume-weighted average price — the average paid over the last month; the page shows no intraday VWAP.
A trend-following stop line. A close through it flips the read.
A trailing stop set a few average ranges below the recent high.
Dealer hedging pressure. Negative gamma amplifies moves both ways.
The strikes with the heaviest open interest; they act as ceiling and floor.
The strike where most options expire worthless.
Institutional filings, 45 days after quarter end. Insider trades, within two days.
Independent factors scored and netted into one number.
Share of past calls that resolved in the direction stated.
Calibration measure. Lower means stated probabilities track reality.
Concentration 0–10,000. Above 2,500 means one segment carries the company.
Fits the tail rather than assuming a bell curve, so bad days are not understated.