Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO Sells $2,056,103.44 in Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr sold 42,907 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $2,056,103.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,803,713.20. The trade was a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,708,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,533,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 6.18. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.45 and a 1 year high of $86.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.73.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 6.22%. The company had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FRPT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Freshpet by 606.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 472 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.