Commerce Bank Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Key Points

• Commerce Bank acquired 51,253 Freshpet shares worth approximately $3.03 million, representing about 0.10% of the company. Several other institutional investors also initiated or expanded positions during the second quarter.
• Freshpet exceeded second-quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.22 consensus and revenue of $305.59 million, up 15.4% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $75.31. However, CEO William B. Cyr sold 41,022 shares for approximately $2.99 million.

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,030,000. Commerce Bank owned about 0.10% of Freshpet as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $107,066,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $5,977,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $2,064,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,255,000. Finally, Western Standard LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,526,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $76.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 5.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.77. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on FRPT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Freshpet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 41,022 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,464,694.72. The trade was a 13.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Freshpet

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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