Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr Sells 42,693 Shares

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr sold 42,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $2,105,618.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,159,796.72. This represents a 20.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of FRPT traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.39. 1,616,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,512,846. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.31. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.76 and a 12 month high of $89.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.18 and a quick ratio of 5.26.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.22% and a net margin of 17.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FRPT. Benchmark boosted their price target on Freshpet from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.88.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 606.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 445.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.