Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Short Interest Update

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,110,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the January 15th total of 4,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRPT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,090,000 after purchasing an additional 46,844 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,809,000 after acquiring an additional 110,478 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 844,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,446,000 after acquiring an additional 9,081 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 810,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,065,000 after acquiring an additional 39,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth $75,253,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT traded down $1.68 during trading on Monday, reaching $129.61. 633,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,699. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.63 and a beta of 1.42. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $85.50 and a 1 year high of $164.07.

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.