Insider Selling: Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO Sells 42,495 Shares of Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr sold 42,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total value of $2,168,519.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 224,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,454,142.77. This trade represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Freshpet Trading Up 2.6%

FRPT stock traded up $1.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.33. 2,407,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,546,242. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.16. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.45 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.18 and a quick ratio of 5.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.73.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer raised Freshpet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 41.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 1,031.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 931,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,905 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 151.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,716,000 after purchasing an additional 893,949 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $41,862,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 118.4% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,234,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,050,000 after purchasing an additional 669,399 shares during the last quarter.

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.