Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires New Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the second quarter worth about $52,000.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.9 %

Freshpet stock opened at $155.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 174.25 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.39. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.36 and a twelve month high of $159.12. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson upped 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet 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.