Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired 26,669 Freshpet shares worth approximately $1.58 million, representing about 0.05% of the company. Several other major institutional investors also increased their FRPT positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.31; recent targets range from $70 to $85.
• Freshpet reported quarterly EPS of $0.39 versus expectations of $0.22, while revenue rose 15.4% year over year to $305.59 million. Shares opened at $70.82, though CEO William B. Cyr recently sold 41,022 shares for nearly $3 million.

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,577,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.05% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company's stock worth $321,822,000 after acquiring an additional 128,499 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,179,000 after acquiring an additional 204,128 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,738,000 after acquiring an additional 104,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company's stock worth $78,965,000 after purchasing an additional 61,198 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.31.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares in the company, valued at $19,464,694.72. The trade was a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,636 shares of company stock worth $12,754,864. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Freshpet Stock Performance

FRPT stock opened at $70.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.94. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.45 and a 52 week high of $86.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.61. 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 (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet 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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