Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Takes $3.91 Million Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has acquired a new stake in Freshpet, Inc., purchasing 46,962 shares valued at approximately $3.91 million, marking its ownership at 0.10% of the company.
• Freshpet's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.09, missing estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 17.6% to $263.25 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Freshpet, with a general consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of around $119.14.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 46,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,906,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Freshpet by 450.6% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Freshpet by 40.0% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,822,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Freshpet by 124.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,060,000 after buying an additional 133,539 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Freshpet by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,586,000 after buying an additional 6,776 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Freshpet in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,472,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price objective on Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Freshpet from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.14.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT stock traded up $4.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,528,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,509. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 225.77, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.77. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.92, a current ratio of 4.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.16% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.