Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Trading Down 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO)’s stock price dropped 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.01 and last traded at $13.95. Approximately 444,221 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 832,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Mission Produce Stock Up 3.7%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 0.63.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 2.48%.The business had revenue of $278.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 3,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.94 per share, with a total value of $44,118.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,991,577 shares in the company, valued at $119,299,429.38. This represents a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 612,715 shares of company stock valued at $7,849,797 over the last three months. 30.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Mission Produce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 100,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Mission Produce by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in Mission Produce by 12.6% in the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 12,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Mission Produce by 12.2% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 15,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.