Fred Alger Management LLC Buys 1,698 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,079 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FRPT. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $153.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.75. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.37 and a 12-month high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total transaction of $790,650.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,678 shares of company stock worth $1,480,217 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet 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.