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

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume of 496,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,962,175 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after buying an additional 186,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after buying an additional 154,909 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $8,902,000.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $146.27. 156,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,044. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.24 and a beta of 1.41. 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 has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $160.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.53.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Company 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.