Scott James Morris Sells 5,000 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Freshpet Stock Down 1.7 %

Freshpet stock opened at $153.24 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.22 and a twelve month high of $160.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 172.18 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $143.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.36. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FRPT. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,462,000 after purchasing an additional 65,868 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,964,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,892,000.

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.