Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Short Interest Update

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,110,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the January 15th total of 4,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,129 shares of the company's stock worth $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 174,580 shares of the company's stock worth $25,857,000 after purchasing an additional 13,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,111 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRPT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.93.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded down $6.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $100.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,549,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,764. Freshpet has a twelve month low of $89.15 and a twelve month high of $164.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 112.65 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $275.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet will post 0.89 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.