235,885 Shares in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 235,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,946,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.48% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FRPT. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth $107,066,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1,031.9% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 931,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,905 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 118.4% in the 3rd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,234,802 shares of the company's stock worth $68,050,000 after purchasing an additional 669,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 122.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 41,022 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total value of $2,988,862.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 267,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,464,694.72. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 131,972 shares of company stock worth $9,791,213 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $72.78 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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