Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 860 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 96.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at $4,338,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth $1,200,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth $963,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,895,000 after acquiring an additional 42,973 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 915,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,457,000 after acquiring an additional 245,403 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $103.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -147.32 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $117.76.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Truist Financial upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Freshpet Company 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.