🐾 Freshpet (FRPT) 🍖📈
$53.20 ▼ –0.21 (–0.39%)
As of Sep-11-2025, 4:00 PM ET

🚨 Trigger: When Insiders Throw a Bone at Their Own Stock

Over the past six months, a pack of Freshpet directors have been buying shares — not just nibbling, but sometimes chomping down on big chunks.

• 🐕 Lisa Axt Alexander (GC, Corp. Sec.) scooped a few hundred shares.

• 🐕 Timothy McLevish (Dir) barked up 3,500 shares at $56.

• 🐕 Daryl Brewster (Dir) added 216 shares — maybe not a full kibble bag, but every bit counts.

• 🐕 Jacki Sue Kelley (Dir) bought 814 shares at $56.50.

• 🐕 Walter George and Craig Steeneck each tossed in buys earlier in 2025 — all at much higher levels ($90s+).

That’s not just tossing table scraps. That’s “we still believe in this story” money.

🏦 Institutional Pack Leaders

It’s not just the insiders sniffing around. The institutions have gone all-in — literally more than 100% of float is held. (How’s that even possible? Wall Street math, don’t ask 🧮🐶).

• 🐾 BlackRock: 5.6M shares

• 🐾 Vanguard: 5.2M shares

• 🐾 Wasatch Advisors: up 41% (!!)

• 🐾 Champlain Investment Partners: up 41%

• 🐾 William Blair IM: up 20%

119.6% of shares held by institutions. More owners than bones in the yard.

For Freshpet (FRPT)'s Institutional Ownership breakdown, 🔍 see here

🐩 Financial Fetch: Q2 2025

Freshpet is starting to look less like a puppy burning cash and more like a house-trained profit machine:

• Revenue: $264.7M, up 12.5% 🥩

• Net income: $16.4M, vs. a loss last year 🎉

• Gross margin: 40.9% → 46.9% adjusted 🐕

• EBITDA: $44.4M, up from $35.1M 🐾

CEO Billy Cyr: “We’re outperforming the dog food category, but keeping it realistic in this economy.” Translation: We’re running fast, but even greyhounds take a breather.

🐶 Balance Sheet: Treats & Leashes

• Cash: $243.7M 🤑

• Debt: $396.2M 🏦 (net of issuance costs)

• Cash from ops: $38.7M (a bit chewed up by higher incentive comp).

Still, plenty of kibble in the jar.

📅 Outlook: Chasing Growth

2025 Guidance:

• Net sales growth: 13%–16% (slightly trimmed)

• Adjusted EBITDA: $190M–$210M (unchanged)

• Capex: ~$175M (down from $225M — more toys later, less now).

2027 Long-Term Targets:

• Removed $1.8B sales target (dogs sometimes miss fetch 😅).

• Still targeting 48% adjusted gross margin & 22% adjusted EBITDA margin.

🐕 2024 vs 2025: From Puppy to Alpha

• 2024 sales: $975.2M, up 27%

• Net income: $46.9M vs –$33.6M loss prior year

• First-ever positive full-year net income 🎉

• Cash flow doubled 🐶💰

Translation: Freshpet isn’t just a “cute growth story” anymore — it’s learning tricks like actual profitability.

📊 Valuation Bone-Check

Freshpet’s stock has fallen 70%+ from its ATH ($186.98, May 2021) — ouch, that’s a tail-between-legs move. But the valuation is finally starting to smell fresh again:

• Forward P/E: 28.4 (down from 172 🤯)

• PEG ratio: 0.74 (below 1 = bargain alert 🚨)

• Price/Sales: 2.56 (vs. 7–8 just a year ago)

• EV/EBITDA: 21.8 (down from 75 😅)

It’s not “dirt cheap,” but way more reasonable than when investors were throwing steakhouse money at dog food.

👉 Want the full picture? Dive into Freshpet (FRPT)'s financials here.

🐾 Risks (Watch Where You Step)

1. Competition: Big dogs like General Mills and private labels have bigger wallets and longer leashes.

2. Profitability: Freshpet finally turned the corner — but can it stay house-trained?

3. Valuation: Cheaper than before, but a clear bottom isn’t confirmed yet.

4. Customer Concentration: Losing a major distributor could chew away sales.

5. Macro: Inflation/recession could push pet parents toward cheaper kibble.

💡💡💡 Curious about another deep oil exploration play?
Check our takes on UnitedHealth Group or even Oscar Health.

✅ FAQ Section

Q: Why are insiders buying so much?
A: Directors tend not to waste money. Insiders throwing cash at shares often signals confidence — or at least better odds than blackjack. 🎲

Q: Isn’t 119% institutional ownership impossible?
A: Welcome to Wall Street magic. That’s short interest + lending + derivatives. Think of it like your dog barking at its own reflection. 🪞🐶

Q: Freshpet vs. Big Food?
A: Freshpet is niche, premium, and innovative. But giants like General Mills have scale. It’s David vs. Goliath — except David is serving refrigerated meals for poodles. 🐩

⚡ Quick Take / TL;DR

• 📈 Top line growth still solid (13%–16%).

• 💰 Profitability arrived — margins improving.

• 🐶 Valuation massively compressed (from nose-bleed to “reasonable growth”).

• 🐾 Insiders & institutions = bullish.

• ⚠️ Risks remain: competition, valuation, and consumer spending.

👉 Verdict: Not a slam-dunk, but looks like a fresh buy nibble. Start small, add on further proof of turnaround.

🧾⚠️📢 Disclaimer: 🧾⚠️📢

We haven’t fed Freshpet to our dogs (or cats). We’re investors, not veterinarians. Investing in Freshpet may still get bumpy. 🎢

Always DYOR, hold the FOMO, and don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose.

We laugh, we analyze, we meme. We sell jokes and opinions — and yes, we’re billing your sense of humor. 🎪💸 
We’re not financial advisors. We’re FUNancial advisors. 

Invest at your own risk.

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