Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Purchases 328,259 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 146.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 552,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 328,259 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 1.12% of Freshpet worth $32,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its stake in Freshpet by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $70.82 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a current ratio of 6.05. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.45 and a fifty-two week high of $86.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.61.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.Freshpet's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freshpet from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.31.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 2,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total transaction of $200,337.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,697,917.60. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

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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