William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,810,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,066,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total value of $2,988,862.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 267,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,464,694.72. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $73.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 5.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.78. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.31.

Freshpet 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.