Emerald Advisers LLC Has $42.37 Million Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Emerald Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,448 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,416 shares during the period. Freshpet accounts for 1.9% of Emerald Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 1.05% of Freshpet worth $42,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 450.6% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 40.0% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,586,000 after purchasing an additional 6,776 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 124.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,060,000 after purchasing an additional 133,539 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 406.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,860,000 after purchasing an additional 42,587 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Truist Financial lowered shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.14.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock traded up $1.84 on Monday, reaching $70.23. 392,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,839. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.75 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.06 and a 200 day moving average of $99.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 225.89, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 3.92.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). Freshpet had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 3.16%. The company had revenue of $263.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

About Freshpet

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.