Connors Investor Services Inc. Buys 17,210 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,342 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,210 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $2,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,568,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,586,000 after purchasing an additional 753,070 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 151.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,716,000 after purchasing an additional 893,949 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 118.4% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,234,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,050,000 after buying an additional 669,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 39.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,196,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,145,000 after buying an additional 336,524 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Down 10.5%

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $67.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a current ratio of 5.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.57 and a 200 day moving average of $61.88. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $89.80.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly 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. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FRPT. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Freshpet from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Freshpet from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.47.

About Freshpet

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.