Mission Produce’s (AVO) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $15.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Mission Produce Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AVO opened at $11.73 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.78. Mission Produce has a 52-week low of $10.07 and a 52-week high of $15.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 391.13 and a beta of 0.43.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The company 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 business’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mission Produce will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 21,646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $281,398.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,684,794 shares in the company, valued at $21,902,322. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 250,062 shares of company stock worth $3,238,747 in the last quarter. 30.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVO. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth $106,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the second quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in 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 buying an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mission Produce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating and set a $15 price target, implying roughly 28% upside from the referenced share price. The endorsement suggests the firm believes Mission Produce’s valuation and growth prospects are attractive. Benzinga analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: At its investor day, Mission Produce outlined targets for mid-single-digit organic sales growth and 300 basis points of margin expansion over the next five years. Management also set a 2035 ambition to double sales and triple adjusted EBITDA, with the strategy intended to support high-single-digit to double-digit annual shareholder returns over time. Mission Produce investor day targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor coverage is focused on whether the company can convert its avocado sourcing, production and distribution strategy into sustained profit growth. The targets offer a longer-term framework, but execution and margin improvement remain important risks for investors. Investor day slideshow
• Negative Sentiment: Mission Produce shares recently fell about 5.8%, while coverage also noted the stock was down 6.8% since its latest earnings report. The decline indicates that investors may have viewed the investor-day outlook as insufficient to offset near-term concerns or may be taking profits after prior earnings-related gains. Why Mission Produce shares are declining
• Negative Sentiment: With a very high reported P/E ratio and minimal net margin, AVO’s valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Investors may therefore be demanding clearer evidence of near-term earnings acceleration before fully crediting the 2035 ambitions. Mission Produce valuation analysis

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc is a global avocado sourcing, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh avocados to retailers, foodservice operators, wholesalers and other customers, managing activities that include procurement, quality control, ripening, packaging and distribution.

Mission Produce sources avocados from growing regions in North and South America and other international markets. Its operations are supported by ripening and distribution facilities designed to provide customers with avocados at different stages of readiness.