Fred Alger Management LLC Grows Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 71.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FRPT. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth $52,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,217 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $153.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.75. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $69.37 and a one year high of $160.91. 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 capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FRPT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

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.