Marshall Wace LLP Decreases Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 578,261 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,566 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 1.19% of Freshpet worth $74,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FRPT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,327,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 3,434.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 226,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,635,000 after purchasing an additional 219,913 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,845,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,395,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,892,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.3 %

FRPT stock opened at $140.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 780.22 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.00. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.60 and a 52 week high of $144.38.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.35) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.87.

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.