Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Receives $16.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Friday, September 4th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th.

Insider Activity at Mission Produce

In other Mission Produce news, Director Bruce Taylor bought 70,283 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.25 per share, for a total transaction of $790,683.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 855,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,628,222.50. This trade represents a 8.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay Pack bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.10 per share, with a total value of $484,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 579,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,017,576.50. This trade represents a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 2,562,459 shares of company stock worth $33,580,031 and sold 86,496 shares worth $1,122,928. Company insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 31.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the second quarter valued at about $311,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter worth about $2,836,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 20.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 660.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 213,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 185,366 shares during the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mission Produce Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVO opened at $12.90 on Tuesday. Mission Produce has a twelve month low of $10.07 and a twelve month high of $15.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 430.14 and a beta of 0.48.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $450.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mission Produce will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

About Mission Produce

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.