Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 39,693 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 45.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,575 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,693 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.26% of Freshpet worth $17,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FRPT. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter worth $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the third quarter worth about $54,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the subject of several recent research 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.05. 186,887 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,924. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $69.37 and a one year high of $160.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.98 and a 200-day moving average of $134.70.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,678 shares of company stock worth $1,480,217 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.