Insider Selling: Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) COO Sells $399,011.52 in Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) COO Scott James Morris sold 3,632 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.86, for a total transaction of $399,011.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,444,666.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Scott James Morris also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 29th, Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $284,400.00.
• On Monday, March 4th, Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $108.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.09 and its 200-day moving average is $84.45. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.60 and a 52-week high of $117.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -152.94 and a beta of 1.23.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $215.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The business’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FRPT. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet raised shares of Freshpet from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 100.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet by 617.3% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period.

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.