Wasatch Advisors LP Acquires 204,128 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 204,128 shares during the quarter. Freshpet accounts for 1.6% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 8.44% of Freshpet worth $244,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,822,000 after acquiring an additional 128,499 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Freshpet by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,738,000 after acquiring an additional 104,913 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,965,000 after purchasing an additional 61,198 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 122.1% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,197,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,953,000 after purchasing an additional 658,114 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRPT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.88.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $57.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.55. The company has a current ratio of 6.18, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $86.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $2,056,103.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,803,713.20. The trade was a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,211 shares of company stock worth $215,027 and have sold 235,262 shares worth $11,664,591. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.