Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Cuts Stake in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC cut its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,549 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter worth approximately $648,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 20.4% during the second quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 75,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after acquiring an additional 12,764 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,005,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,257,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 139.2% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,553 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $320,500.86. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,379.14. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $72.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.58. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The company has a quick ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 5.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.71.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43. Freshpet had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Freshpet from $90.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.75.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.