Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Sells 22,436 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. reduced its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 48.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,568 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,436 shares during the quarter. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $3,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 154,909 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,892,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,902,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $154.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 173.29 and a beta of 1.41. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.47. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.66 and a 1 year high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The company had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

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.