Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 144,824 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,946,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,824 shares during the period. Freshpet comprises about 1.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 4.01% of Freshpet worth $288,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $195.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $135.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Freshpet from $102.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.80.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $79.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.32 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.05. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.90 and a 52-week high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet Profile

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. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.