Cynosure Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Key Points

• Cynosure Group LLC significantly increased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. by 693.5%, acquiring a total of 16,251 shares valued at approximately $1,352,000.
• Various institutional investors have also boosted their investments in Freshpet, including Amalgamated Bank, which increased its stake by 450.6%, and Principal Financial Group Inc., which raised its stake by 124.0%.
• Freshpet reported $0.33 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations and representing a significant improvement from ($0.03 earnings per share) in the same quarter last year.

Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 693.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,251 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,203 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 12.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,223,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,455,000 after acquiring an additional 571,139 shares in the last quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,026,829 shares of the company's stock worth $85,401,000 after buying an additional 156,583 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 810,646 shares of the company's stock worth $120,065,000 after buying an additional 39,129 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 509,448 shares of the company's stock worth $42,371,000 after buying an additional 11,416 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Freshpet by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 468,870 shares of the company's stock worth $38,996,000 after buying an additional 28,563 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price target on shares of Freshpet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.36.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.70. The company had a trading volume of 921,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,862. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.60 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $71.40 and its 200-day moving average is $87.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Freshpet 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.