Optimize Financial Inc Invests $595,000 in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 10,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 118.1% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 10,461 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in Freshpet by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Freshpet by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $69.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.48. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.76 and a 12-month high of $160.35. The company has a current ratio of 5.52, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $70.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Freshpet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 63,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.21, for a total value of $3,485,683.35. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 160,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,859,879.96. This trade represents a 28.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.