Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Short Interest Down 23.6% in November

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, a drop of 23.6% from the October 31st total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 315,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Mission Produce Stock Up 2.3 %

AVO traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $13.30. 177,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 224,566. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.59. The company has a market cap of $943.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Mission Produce has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $14.17.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $324.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.90 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.06%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mission Produce will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Luis A. Gonzalez sold 51,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total value of $685,447.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,219,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,876,473.92. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay A. Pack sold 22,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total transaction of $295,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,115,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,954,295.60. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 296,059 shares of company stock valued at $3,920,360 in the last ninety days. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 245.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AVO shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Mission Produce from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries.