Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.6667.

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVO shares. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mission Produce

In other Mission Produce news, Director Bruce C. Taylor purchased 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.29 per share, with a total value of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 455,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,146,456.18. The trade was a 192.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan E. Giles sold 5,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.13, for a total transaction of $60,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 146,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,782,273.03. This trade represents a 3.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 929,702 shares of company stock worth $10,490,901. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVO. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake 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 period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ AVO opened at $12.44 on Thursday. Mission Produce has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.09 and a 200-day moving average of $12.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88 and a beta of 0.49.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.