Thembeka Machaba Sells 2,500 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT traded down $1.36 on Tuesday, hitting $155.08. 357,915 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,985. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.77 and a 200-day moving average of $131.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.36 and a 52 week high of $159.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.78 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The company had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. Freshpet’s revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 749.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,892,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,902,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.13.

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.