Freshpet Experiences Short Squeeze Following Impressive Q3 Results Amid High Short Interest
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Nov 03 2025
0mins
Should l Buy FRPT?
Source: Benzinga
Third-Quarter Financial Performance: Freshpet Inc. reported third-quarter earnings of $1.86 per share, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of 44 cents, driven by a deferred income tax benefit. Net sales rose 14% to $288.85 million, surpassing estimates, while adjusted EPS was 47 cents, above the 43-cent forecast.
Revised Full-Year Outlook: The company updated its full-year 2025 sales growth outlook to approximately 13%, lowering its sales forecast to about $1.102 billion, slightly below analyst estimates. Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be between $190 million and $195 million.
CEO's Financial Discipline: CEO Billy Cyr emphasized the company's strong performance and financial discipline, noting plans to reduce capital expenditures and achieve positive free cash flow for fiscal year 2025, a year earlier than initially planned.
High Short Interest: Freshpet has a short float of 6.74 million shares, indicating a high level of bearish bets against the stock, with shares trading up 6.52% to $52.42 in premarket activity.
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Analyst Views on FRPT
Wall Street analysts forecast FRPT stock price to rise
7 Analyst Rating
3 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 67.890
Low
61.00
Averages
71.67
High
87.00
Current: 67.890
Low
61.00
Averages
71.67
High
87.00
About FRPT
Freshpet, Inc. is focused on the development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of pet food products. The Company's products consist of dog food, cat food and dog treats. The Company's products are made according to its nutritional philosophy of fresh, meat-based nutrition and minimal processing. Its proprietary recipes include real, fresh meat and varying combinations of vitamin-rich vegetables, leafy greens, and antioxidant-rich fruits, without the use of preservatives or additives. Its products are sold under the Freshpet brand name. The Company sells its products through a network of Company-owned branded refrigerators, Freshpet Fridges. The Company sells its products throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells its products through various classes of retail: grocery, mass, international, digital, pet specialty, and club. The Company also offer fresh treats across all classes of retail under the Dognation and Dog Joy labels.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Freshpet Achieves Clean Label Project Purity Award for Entire Portfolio
- Industry First Award: Freshpet becomes the first dog food brand to earn the Clean Label Project Purity Award for its entire U.S. and Canadian portfolio, marking its leadership in safety and quality and enhancing differentiation against traditional dry dog food.
- Strict Standards Certification: The award indicates that every product in Freshpet's North American line meets stringent thresholds for heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial contaminants, following a certification process that began in early 2025, underscoring its premium market positioning.
- Market Validation Advantage: The Clean Label Project Purity Award is reserved for the top third of products in its category, providing Freshpet with third-party validation that aids in marketing, retailer discussions, and consumer education regarding ingredient quality and food safety.
- Support for Healthy Eating Trends: The newly released Clean Label Project Dog Food Category Report highlights elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury in traditional dry dog foods compared to fresh and frozen options, further supporting Freshpet's advocacy for fresh, gently cooked diets as healthier alternatives.
See More
Freshpet Achieves Purity Award for Entire Product Line
- Full Product Certification: Freshpet's entire U.S. and Canadian product line has received the Clean Label Project™ Purity Award, making it the only pet food brand to achieve this certification, highlighting its excellence in food safety and ingredient quality.
- Stringent Testing Standards: To earn this certification, products must undergo independent lab testing for over 100 environmental and industrial contaminants, including heavy metals and pesticides, ensuring Freshpet's recipes meet rigorous safety standards and enhancing consumer trust.
- Industry Leadership: According to the Clean Label Project's report, Freshpet's fresh and frozen dog foods have significantly lower heavy metal levels compared to traditional dry dog foods, showcasing its competitive advantage in the pet food industry and further solidifying its market leadership.
- Transparency and Responsibility: Freshpet is committed to providing transparent ingredient information and high food safety standards, addressing consumer concerns about pet food safety, driving the industry towards higher safety standards, and enhancing brand image and customer loyalty.
See More
Freshpet Achieves Purity Award for Entire Product Line
- Full Product Certification: Freshpet's entire U.S. and Canadian product line has received the Clean Label Project™ Purity Award, making it the only pet food brand to achieve this distinction, which underscores its exceptional ingredient quality and safety, thereby reinforcing its market leadership.
- Rigorous Testing Standards: To earn this certification, Freshpet's products underwent independent lab testing for over 100 environmental and industrial contaminants, including heavy metals and pesticides, ensuring that its offerings exceed industry safety standards and enhance consumer trust.
- Comparative Industry Advantage: The Clean Label Project's report indicates that traditional dry dog foods contain significantly higher levels of heavy metals compared to Freshpet's products, which have lower average levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury than the benchmark for human consumables, showcasing its leadership in pet food safety.
- Commitment to Sustainability: Freshpet is dedicated to using fresh, recognizable ingredients and employs gentle steam cooking methods to preserve nutrient integrity, which not only enhances product quality but also aligns with modern consumer expectations for health and sustainability.
See More
The Investment Value of Fundamental Momentum
- Definition of Fundamental Momentum: Fundamental momentum refers to the direction and persistence of improvement in a company's underlying business, including rising earnings, improving profitability, and growing cash flows, highlighting the potential for long-term investment.
- Delayed Market Reaction: Research indicates that markets often react slowly to improvements in fundamentals, with investors anchored to old narratives, creating opportunities for long-term returns due to this lag.
- Advantages of Combined Momentum: When a company's fundamentals are improving and the stock price confirms this improvement, returns are multiplicative rather than additive, significantly enhancing investor gains and avoiding value traps.
- Shift in Investor Mindset: Investors should focus on which businesses are improving rather than short-term market fluctuations, as this mindset shift can help them achieve superior returns without chasing trends.
See More
Barron’s Stock Selections Outperform the Market in 2025: Insights on Our Successes and Missteps.
Market Volatility: A little chaos in the market can create opportunities for stock-picking, allowing investors to identify undervalued stocks.
Investment Strategy: Embracing market fluctuations can lead to better investment decisions, as it encourages a more active approach to stock selection.
See More
Mid-to-Low Cap Consumer Staples Stocks Earn A+ EPS Revision Ratings
- Analyst Rating Upgrades: As earnings season begins, low-to-mid cap consumer staples stocks like The Andersons (ANDE) and Beyond Meat (BYND) have received an A+ EPS revision rating from analysts, indicating growing confidence in their profitability outlook.
- Improved Earnings Expectations: Companies such as Freshpet (FRPT) and John B. Sanfilippo & Son (JBSS) have shown strong performance in recent earnings estimate upgrades, suggesting an improvement in their fundamentals.
- Increased Market Attention: Firms like Oddity Tech (ODD) and Reynolds Consumer Products (REYN) are attracting investor interest due to their strong earnings momentum, with positive analyst revisions likely to drive stock price increases.
- Industry Trend Analysis: Companies such as Turning Point Brands (TPB) and Village Farms International (VFF) are performing well in the current market environment, demonstrating resilience in the consumer staples sector amid structural challenges.
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Freshpet Achieves Clean Label Project Purity Award for Entire Portfolio
- Industry First Award: Freshpet becomes the first dog food brand to earn the Clean Label Project Purity Award for its entire U.S. and Canadian portfolio, marking its leadership in safety and quality and enhancing differentiation against traditional dry dog food.
- Strict Standards Certification: The award indicates that every product in Freshpet's North American line meets stringent thresholds for heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial contaminants, following a certification process that began in early 2025, underscoring its premium market positioning.
- Market Validation Advantage: The Clean Label Project Purity Award is reserved for the top third of products in its category, providing Freshpet with third-party validation that aids in marketing, retailer discussions, and consumer education regarding ingredient quality and food safety.
- Support for Healthy Eating Trends: The newly released Clean Label Project Dog Food Category Report highlights elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury in traditional dry dog foods compared to fresh and frozen options, further supporting Freshpet's advocacy for fresh, gently cooked diets as healthier alternatives.
See More
Freshpet Achieves Purity Award for Entire Product Line
- Full Product Certification: Freshpet's entire U.S. and Canadian product line has received the Clean Label Project™ Purity Award, making it the only pet food brand to achieve this certification, highlighting its excellence in food safety and ingredient quality.
- Stringent Testing Standards: To earn this certification, products must undergo independent lab testing for over 100 environmental and industrial contaminants, including heavy metals and pesticides, ensuring Freshpet's recipes meet rigorous safety standards and enhancing consumer trust.
- Industry Leadership: According to the Clean Label Project's report, Freshpet's fresh and frozen dog foods have significantly lower heavy metal levels compared to traditional dry dog foods, showcasing its competitive advantage in the pet food industry and further solidifying its market leadership.
- Transparency and Responsibility: Freshpet is committed to providing transparent ingredient information and high food safety standards, addressing consumer concerns about pet food safety, driving the industry towards higher safety standards, and enhancing brand image and customer loyalty.
See More
Freshpet Achieves Purity Award for Entire Product Line
- Full Product Certification: Freshpet's entire U.S. and Canadian product line has received the Clean Label Project™ Purity Award, making it the only pet food brand to achieve this distinction, which underscores its exceptional ingredient quality and safety, thereby reinforcing its market leadership.
- Rigorous Testing Standards: To earn this certification, Freshpet's products underwent independent lab testing for over 100 environmental and industrial contaminants, including heavy metals and pesticides, ensuring that its offerings exceed industry safety standards and enhance consumer trust.
- Comparative Industry Advantage: The Clean Label Project's report indicates that traditional dry dog foods contain significantly higher levels of heavy metals compared to Freshpet's products, which have lower average levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury than the benchmark for human consumables, showcasing its leadership in pet food safety.
- Commitment to Sustainability: Freshpet is dedicated to using fresh, recognizable ingredients and employs gentle steam cooking methods to preserve nutrient integrity, which not only enhances product quality but also aligns with modern consumer expectations for health and sustainability.
See More
The Investment Value of Fundamental Momentum
- Definition of Fundamental Momentum: Fundamental momentum refers to the direction and persistence of improvement in a company's underlying business, including rising earnings, improving profitability, and growing cash flows, highlighting the potential for long-term investment.
- Delayed Market Reaction: Research indicates that markets often react slowly to improvements in fundamentals, with investors anchored to old narratives, creating opportunities for long-term returns due to this lag.
- Advantages of Combined Momentum: When a company's fundamentals are improving and the stock price confirms this improvement, returns are multiplicative rather than additive, significantly enhancing investor gains and avoiding value traps.
- Shift in Investor Mindset: Investors should focus on which businesses are improving rather than short-term market fluctuations, as this mindset shift can help them achieve superior returns without chasing trends.
See More
Barron’s Stock Selections Outperform the Market in 2025: Insights on Our Successes and Missteps.
Market Volatility: A little chaos in the market can create opportunities for stock-picking, allowing investors to identify undervalued stocks.
Investment Strategy: Embracing market fluctuations can lead to better investment decisions, as it encourages a more active approach to stock selection.
See More
Mid-to-Low Cap Consumer Staples Stocks Earn A+ EPS Revision Ratings
- Analyst Rating Upgrades: As earnings season begins, low-to-mid cap consumer staples stocks like The Andersons (ANDE) and Beyond Meat (BYND) have received an A+ EPS revision rating from analysts, indicating growing confidence in their profitability outlook.
- Improved Earnings Expectations: Companies such as Freshpet (FRPT) and John B. Sanfilippo & Son (JBSS) have shown strong performance in recent earnings estimate upgrades, suggesting an improvement in their fundamentals.
- Increased Market Attention: Firms like Oddity Tech (ODD) and Reynolds Consumer Products (REYN) are attracting investor interest due to their strong earnings momentum, with positive analyst revisions likely to drive stock price increases.
- Industry Trend Analysis: Companies such as Turning Point Brands (TPB) and Village Farms International (VFF) are performing well in the current market environment, demonstrating resilience in the consumer staples sector amid structural challenges.
See More
