Short Interest in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Decreases By 7.8%

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) saw a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,110,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the January 15th total of 4,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 579,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.29.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $131.99 on Wednesday. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $87.87 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 148.31 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.34.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at $75,253,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Freshpet by 391.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after acquiring an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares during the period.

About Freshpet

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.