Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 96.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,750 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 860 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Freshpet by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,588,000 after purchasing an additional 185,210 shares in the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth about $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,558,000 after purchasing an additional 110,383 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,254,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,617,000 after purchasing an additional 73,393 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FRPT. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,921,948.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $103.69 on Thursday. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.60 and a fifty-two week high of $117.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.36. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -147.32 and a beta of 1.23.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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.