Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Pier Capital LLC

Pier Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 33.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,354 shares during the quarter. Pier Capital LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $7,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,278,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 1st quarter worth $811,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 249,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,852,000 after buying an additional 10,456 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 53.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 139,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,151,000 after buying an additional 48,401 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Freshpet by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after buying an additional 8,889 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.87.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $135.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.50, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.60 and a 1 year high of $143.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.77. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 751.26 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.