June 10 Pet food maker Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc filed with U.S. regulators on Wednesday to raise up to $500 million in an initial public offering of its common stock.Wilton, Connecticut-based Blue Buffalo, which is backed by private equity firm Invus Group, makes healthy food for cats andThe company's products include the Blue Basics brand for pets with food sensitivities; the Wilderness brand that includes more meat and the grain-free Freedom brand. sells cat litter, pet treats and stews. Blue Buffalo, founded in 2003, said in the filing that it has about 6 percent share of the $26 billion U.S. pet foodThe company is looking to go public amid positive industry trends like rising pet ownership and an increase in spending Pet food maker Freshpet Inc's stock has risen 22 percent since it went public last year.Blue Buffalo had hired banks for an IPO, Reuters reported last year, citing sources. The company reported a 28 percent jump in revenue to $917.8

million for the year ended Dec. 31. Net income rose 30 percent to about $102 million.JP Morgan, Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are among the underwriters to the IPO.All the shares in the offering will be sold by the selling stockholders, the company said in the filing.Blue Buffalo intends to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "BUFF".The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting by Neha Dimri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelYou are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating indiv idual securities.

If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel. (Delayed Data from NSDQ) View All Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys Exp EPS Growth 19.45% Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) is Zacks’ proprietary methodology for determining which stocks have the best chance to surprise with their next earnings announcement. Read more about this innovative method in the Zacks Earnings ESP Guide See all the top Earnings ESP Stocks. Research Report for BUFF All Zacks’ Analyst Reports Zacks News for BUFF Why Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF) Could Be an Impressive Growth Stock Newell's (NWL) Strategies Bode Well: Buy the Stock Now Newell (NWL) Tops Q2 Earnings Estimates, Keeps 2016 View New Strong Buy Stocks for July 28th 5 Growth Stocks to Buy as Markets Rally Over Last 4 Weeks Premium Research for BUFF 87 / 265 (Top 33%) ( = Change in last 30 days) Learn to Profit from the Zacks Rank Premium Research: Industry Analysis

See all CONSUMER PRD-MISC STPL Peers>>On September 18, 2014, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company filed an amended complaint in its false advertising lawsuit against Blue Buffalo, alleging additional false advertising in the marketing of the company's petfood, treats and cat litter. Maltese Puppies For Sale Birmingham AlabamaOn September 19, Blue Buffalo posted a letter from founder and Chairman Bill Bishop disputing Purina's independent testing, saying the person involved has "dubious scientific credentials."Teacup Pomeranian Puppies For Sale In Md According to Purina, new testing showed that "Blue Buffalo's 'LifeSource Bits' actually have lower levels of some key nutrients than the standard kibble found in Blue Buffalo petfood." Lhasa X Bichon Puppies For Sale

In addition, said Purina, Blue Buffalo's Jolly Joints dog treats have inadequate levels of glucosamine to provide the joint and hip health benefits the product claims. The company also said that "Blue Buffalo’s claims that its cat litter products have 'three times the absorption power' of the leading clay-based litter, and '1.5X-8.5X More Odor Control' than leading clumping litter, are also false and misleading against Purina’s litter products." But Blue Buffalo has called into question Purina's independent testing by Windsor Laboratories, saying that the research "does not even come close to meeting the basic requirements of a scientific test, let alone being something to use as support to make their outrageous, malicious allegations." The lab, said Blue Buffalo, is actually a single individual with "dubious scientific credentials" who works out of a home lab. The analysis was performed "with a rudimentary microscope under less than optimal conditions with questionable methods and record keeping."

The company has conducted a report on the research, via Vinayak P. Dravid, PhD. According to Purina, "Windsor Laboratories is a well-recognized laboratory specializing in microscopic analysis for the agricultural and other related industries, including the petfood industry. Its owner, Dr. James V. Makowski, is the author and lead editor of Microscopic Analysis of Agricultural Products (4th Edition, 2010), a training resource on the subject of microscopic analysis of agricultural products used by the US Food and Drug Administration." The case in question is Nestlé Purina PetCare Company v. Blue Buffalo Company Ltd., Civil Case No. 4:14-cv-00859. For further coverage of Purina vs. Blue Buffalo: Purina sues Blue Buffalo for false advertising, disparagement Blue Buffalo responds to Nestle Purina lawsuit BLOG: Purina and Blue Buffalo wage petfood marketing claims war Blue Buffalo officially files lawsuit against Nestle Purina Review board recommends Blue Buffalo modify advertising