An activist investor has a nearly 10% stake in Freshpet Inc. and plans to push the pet-food company to make changes to boost its stock price and explore a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jana Partners LLC believes Freshpet
FRPT,
could be an attractive target for larger competitors in the sector that have shown an appetite for deals in recent years, the people said. It also wants the company to consider other changes such as operational and capital-allocation improvements.