Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 442 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,428 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth about $4,338,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,895,000 after buying an additional 42,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $489,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Freshpet by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $106.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.80 and a beta of 1.23. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $117.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.14.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. Freshpet’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,709,007.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.36.

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.