Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Short Interest Down 6.2% in November

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the November 15th total of 4,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 496,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,962,175 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FRPT traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $147.06. The company had a trading volume of 414,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,781. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $160.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.53. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 165.24 and a beta of 1.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on FRPT shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

About Freshpet

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.