Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Freshpet, Inc. by 97.2%, leaving it with only 2,776 shares after selling 96,089 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in Freshpet, with notable additions from XTX Topco Ltd and Jump Financial LLC.
• Analysts have mixed views on Freshpet, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and varying price targets, reflecting changes in the perceived value of the stock.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 97.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,089 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Freshpet were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 12.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,223,695 shares of the company's stock worth $434,455,000 after purchasing an additional 571,139 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $15,073,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,026,829 shares of the company's stock worth $85,401,000 after acquiring an additional 156,583 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth about $12,799,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,060,000 after acquiring an additional 133,539 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded down $1.7620 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.5380. 477,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,227. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.08 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $69.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a current ratio of 4.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.77.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $264.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Freshpet'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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson set a $101.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Freshpet from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.29.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.