Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Chairman Stephen Barnard Sells 15,000 Shares

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $196,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 35,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,312.20. The trade was a 29.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mission Produce Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Mission Produce stock traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $12.39. 937,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,295. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.07 and a 12-month high of $15.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 413.14 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.86.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $450.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.12%.The firm’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Mission Produce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVO. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Mission Produce in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AVO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc (NASDAQ:AVO) is an avocado sourcing, production, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh Hass avocados and other avocado varieties to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers, managing activities across the supply chain from growing and procurement to ripening, packing and delivery.

Mission Produce works with avocado growers and operates or manages production and distribution activities in several major growing regions, including Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and the United States.