Emerald Advisers LLC Lowers Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 374,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,492 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $20,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Ossiam boosted its stake in Freshpet by 81.1% during the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 258.9% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 542 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 63,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.21, for a total value of $3,485,683.35. Following the sale, the president owned 160,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,859,879.96. This trade represents a 28.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Trading Up 3.2%

Freshpet stock opened at $69.86 on Thursday. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $46.76 and a one year high of $164.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.95 and its 200 day moving average is $59.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 5.52 and a quick ratio of 4.61.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

About Freshpet

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.