Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $571,000 in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 65.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 496 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $3,964,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $8,892,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $32,000.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $154.23. 429,866 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 576,109. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.34. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.66 and a 1-year high of $160.91. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.75 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.15) EPS. The business's revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRPT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.80.

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.