Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Short Interest Update

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,660,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the March 31st total of 5,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 595,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.36.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $105.69 on Thursday. Freshpet has a 52 week low of $54.60 and a 52 week high of $117.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.08, a current ratio of 4.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -148.86 and a beta of 1.23.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $284,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,921,948.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at $9,231,127.68. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,668,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Freshpet by 5.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,588,000 after purchasing an additional 185,210 shares during the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after acquiring an additional 110,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after acquiring an additional 17,678 shares during the last quarter.

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.