113,500 Shares in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT Bought by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired 113,500 shares of Freshpet, Inc. for approximately $9,440,000, representing a new position in the company.
• Freshpet reported $0.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.12, while revenue was up 12.5% year-over-year.
• The consensus rating for Freshpet's stock is currently a "Hold," with a consensus target price of $109.29, reflecting a range of analyst ratings from "Buy" to "Sell."

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 113,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,440,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.23% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 335,097 shares of the company's stock worth $49,631,000 after acquiring an additional 33,078 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 538.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 62,077 shares of the company's stock worth $9,194,000 after acquiring an additional 52,352 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 214,974 shares of the company's stock worth $31,840,000 after acquiring an additional 51,621 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company's stock worth $14,586,000 after acquiring an additional 6,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 28,597 shares of the company's stock worth $4,236,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:FRPT traded up $1.62 on Friday, reaching $54.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,354,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,622. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.27 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.03.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%.The company had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FRPT shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson set a $101.00 price objective on Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacki Sue Kelley acquired 814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.50 per share, for a total transaction of $45,991.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $672,745.50. This represents a 7.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy R. Mclevish acquired 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $196,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 35,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,240. This trade represents a 11.01% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 4,630 shares of company stock worth $259,656 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.43% of the company's stock.

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.