Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,603,014 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 85% from the previous session’s volume of 867,597 shares.The stock last traded at $101.97 and had previously closed at $106.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.93.

Freshpet Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.65 and a beta of 1.42.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

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

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth $75,253,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 54.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after purchasing an additional 154,909 shares during the last quarter.

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.