Insider Selling: Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) EVP Sells $304,941.78 in Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Freshpet Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $137.62 on Thursday. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.60 and a twelve month high of $143.06. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 764.60 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.75 and its 200-day moving average is $121.77.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. Freshpet had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Freshpet in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Freshpet by 275.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $645,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 5,503 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.87.

Freshpet Company 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.