Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Purchases $1,739,196.72 in Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor acquired 155,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.16 per share, with a total value of $1,739,196.72. Following the acquisition, the director owned 155,842 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,196.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mission Produce Trading Down 0.2%

AVO traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.18. 2,187,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,046,993. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.91. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.07 and a 52-week high of $15.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $987.42 million, a PE ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 0.51.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 1.83%.The company had revenue of $278.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Mission Produce’s revenue was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mission Produce declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVO. UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 211.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 33.7% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc is a leading global supplier, packer and distributor of fresh avocados, serving retail, foodservice and industrial customers. The company manages a vertically integrated supply chain that spans sourcing, post-harvest handling, packing and ripening. Through proprietary ripening technologies and cold-chain logistics, Mission Produce delivers consistent quality and extended shelf life for its avocado offerings.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Oxnard, California, Mission Produce grew from a regional packing operation into a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker AVO.