December 19, 2025 — Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) is back in the spotlight Friday as the stock trades lower even after Bank of America lifted its price target. The mixed message—higher target, unchanged “neutral” stance, and a down tape—captures the weird tension around Freshpet right now: the company is still a leader in the fast-growing “fresh” pet food niche, but investors and analysts are debating how durable demand will be in a tougher consumer environment.
As of 18:36 UTC (1:36 p.m. ET), Freshpet shares traded at $63.27, down about 3.6% on the day, with a market capitalization near $3.07 billion. The session range has been volatile, with an intraday high of $65.93 and low of $62.83.
Below is a full breakdown of Freshpet stock news on December 19, 2025, the latest analyst forecasts, and the fundamental drivers likely to shape FRPT into early 2026.
Freshpet stock price today: FRPT dips despite a bullish headline
Freshpet’s decline Friday stands out because it arrives on a day when at least one major Wall Street firm is marking its target price higher. That’s not uncommon: price targets reflect a 12‑month view, while the stock price is reacting minute-to-minute to sentiment, positioning, and near-term worries about demand, margins, or competition.
Even after Friday’s pullback, Freshpet remains dramatically below its 52‑week high of $160.65, a reminder of how sharply expectations (and valuation) have reset for premium growth names across consumer staples and discretionary categories.
Today’s headline: Bank of America raises Freshpet price target to $67 (keeps “Neutral”)
On December 19, 2025, coverage cited by MarketBeat reports that Bank of America increased its Freshpet price target to $67 from $60 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. [1]
That target change matters for two reasons:
- It signals less downside concern than earlier in the year, when debate centered on whether fresh pet food demand was slowing too sharply.
- “Neutral” still implies caution, especially in a stock known for sharp swings around earnings and guidance updates.
MarketBeat’s roundup also points to a broader Street split: the stock has a mix of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings, and an average target price cited around $82.63 across the analysts it tracks. [2]
Other fresh analyst coverage: Morgan Stanley initiates with “Equal-Weight” and a $71 target
Freshpet has also drawn new attention this week after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Equal-Weight rating and a $71 price target (coverage date: December 16, 2025). [3]
The core framing from that initiation is essentially: the category is attractive long-term, but near-term macro pressure may limit growth—a theme that keeps showing up in Freshpet research notes, especially as the company’s products sit at the premium end of the pet food spectrum. [4]
The fundamentals: what Freshpet last reported (Q3 2025) and why it still matters now
The most recent full quarterly release Freshpet has provided is for Q3 2025 (reported November 3, 2025), and the numbers are still the backbone for how analysts are modeling 2026.
Key Q3 2025 highlights Freshpet reported:
- Net sales:$288.8 million, up 14.0% year over year [5]
- Adjusted EBITDA:$54.6 million (vs. $43.5 million prior year period) [6]
- Management emphasized positive free cash flow in Q3 and said it now expects to be free-cash-flow positive for full-year 2025, a year earlier than its prior goal [7]
Updated 2025 outlook (Freshpet’s own guidance)
In that same Q3 release, Freshpet updated full‑year 2025 guidance to:
- Net sales growth: approximately ~13% [8]
- Adjusted EBITDA:$190 million to $195 million [9]
- Capital expenditures: approximately ~$140 million [10]
Why this still moves the stock in December: the market is trying to decide whether Freshpet is transitioning from a “growth-at-any-price” story into a more durable, cash-generating consumer brand—or whether it’s simply in a softer patch that will keep compressing multiples until growth visibly re-accelerates.
Recent corporate developments investors still have on their checklist
1) Executive retention: COO Nicola Baty retention grant disclosed in December 8-K
Freshpet filed a Form 8‑K describing a 2025 Retention Grant for COO Nicola Baty, approved by the board committee on December 8, 2025 and reported in a filing dated December 12, 2025.
Key details disclosed:
- Grant date value: $1,750,819.72
- Award structure: RSUs split between time-based and performance-based components (13,858 of each, per the filing)
- Performance vesting tied to FY 2025–2027 cumulative net sales and Adjusted EBITDA margin goals [11]
Retention awards don’t automatically mean something is “wrong,” but they do tell you what the board considers critical: execution in operations, supply chain, and growth efficiency is central to the Freshpet narrative going forward. [12]
2) CFO transition: Ivan Garcia appointed interim CFO after Todd Cunfer resignation
Earlier in the cycle, Freshpet disclosed that CFO Todd Cunfer would resign and that Ivan Garcia (VP of Finance) was appointed interim CFO, effective October 17, 2025. The disclosure also included details on compensation adjustments and an RSU grant for Garcia. [13]
Separately, Reuters reported that Cunfer was tapped as CFO of Campbell’s, underscoring that the move was tied to a new opportunity rather than an abrupt break. [14]
3) Insider trading chatter
MarketBeat’s December 19 note also highlights prior insider activity tied to President Scott James Morris, referencing sales around $55.21 and a reduction in his position. [15]
(Insider transactions can reflect many things—tax planning, option exercises, diversification—not just executive confidence, but they often re-enter the conversation when a stock is volatile.)
The bigger backdrop: why Freshpet is a battleground stock in 2025
Freshpet sits at the intersection of two powerful (and sometimes conflicting) realities:
Tailwind: “fresh” pet food is still a growth category
The industry narrative remains compelling: pet owners increasingly “humanize” pets and pay up for perceived quality. Reuters reported that General Mills entered the fresh segment with a “fresh” Blue Buffalo dog food push, describing the category as potentially growing sharply over the next decade—an implicit validation of the space Freshpet helped popularize. [16]
Headwind: premium spending and pet adoption trends aren’t guaranteed
Freshpet’s premium positioning can become a vulnerability when consumers get cautious. A MarketWatch piece summarizing Bank of America’s earlier skepticism pointed to pressures including higher living costs, slower pet adoptions, and mix shifts toward cats and smaller dogs, all of which can affect the “fresh dog food” demand curve. [17]
In plain English: Freshpet may be the category leader, but the category’s growth rate is not immune to macro reality—and competition is intensifying.
Freshpet stock forecast: what analysts are projecting into 2026
Because analyst forecast databases use different universes of analysts and update schedules, price targets vary by source. Here’s the range being cited across widely followed market trackers as of December 19:
- MarketBeat (consensus): average target around $82.63 (with targets ranging roughly $48 to $145) [18]
- Investing.com (consensus): average 12‑month target about $70.69, with a high estimate of $101 and low of $50 [19]
- StockAnalysis (consensus): average target around $77.07 (low $48, high $145) [20]
Earnings expectations: the next big catalyst window
MarketBeat lists Freshpet’s next earnings as estimated around February 19, 2026 (the company has not confirmed the date there). That same page also summarizes Street expectations for earnings growth into the next year. [21]
Investors should treat date estimates as placeholders until Freshpet formally announces its reporting date, but in practice, the market will start positioning for that window well in advance.
What to watch next: the near-term checklist for FRPT shareholders
Freshpet’s story is likely to swing on a few measurable items rather than broad narratives:
- Net sales growth trend: Does growth stabilize around the low teens—or re-accelerate?
- Profitability and cash flow: Freshpet has emphasized free cash flow improvement; the market will demand follow-through. [22]
- Competitive intensity: New “fresh” offerings from major incumbents could change retail dynamics, pricing pressure, and shelf/fridge access. [23]
- Execution and leadership stability: The COO retention grant and CFO transition keep attention on operational execution. [24]
- Macro and pet ownership data: Adoption rates and consumer trade-down behavior can show up quickly in premium categories. [25]
Bottom line
On December 19, 2025, Freshpet stock is lower on the day even as Bank of America raises its price target to $67, reinforcing the market’s current stance: Freshpet remains investable, but not unquestioned. [26]
Bulls see a category leader with improving cash flow ambitions and a long runway for refrigerated fresh pet food. Bears see a premium product facing macro headwinds, tougher competition, and a stock that can re-rate sharply when growth expectations wobble. The truth, as usual, is messier—and will likely be decided by the next couple of earnings cycles.
References
1. www.marketbeat.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.tipranks.com, 4. www.tipranks.com, 5. www.globenewswire.com, 6. www.globenewswire.com, 7. www.globenewswire.com, 8. www.globenewswire.com, 9. www.globenewswire.com, 10. www.globenewswire.com, 11. www.sec.gov, 12. www.sec.gov, 13. www.investing.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.marketwatch.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. www.investing.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.marketbeat.com, 22. www.globenewswire.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.sec.gov, 25. www.marketwatch.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com
