Jay Pack Acquires 40,000 Shares of Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Jay Pack purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.10 per share, with a total value of $484,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 579,965 shares in the company, valued at $7,017,576.50. This trade represents a 7.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Mission Produce Price Performance

AVO opened at $12.44 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.88 and a beta of 0.49. Mission Produce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.07 and a twelve month 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.

Mission Produce announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVO. Freedom Capital raised shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mission Produce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 211.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 466.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

About Mission Produce

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.