Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FRPT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total transaction of $790,650.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $351,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 8.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $146.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $160.91. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.47 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.53.

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

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.