Insider Buying: Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Director Acquires 1,000 Shares

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Director Walter George purchased 1,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.92 per share, with a total value of $64,920.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,359,350.32. The trade was a 1.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $62.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,065,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,567. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 5.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.45. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its 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 net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The company had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Freshpet by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 59,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 12,732 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,722,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,363,000. Finally, Commerce Bank bought a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,030,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.31.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets fresh, refrigerated food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other nutrients, and are positioned as an alternative to conventional shelf-stable pet food.

The company sells products primarily under the Freshpet brand, including refrigerated meals, rolls, recipes and treats. Freshpet products are distributed through grocery stores, mass retailers, pet specialty stores, natural and specialty food retailers, and e-commerce channels.