GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Invests $1.18 Million in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 86,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,183,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. owned approximately 0.12% of Mission Produce at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVO. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Mission Produce in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 211.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 3,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Mission Produce Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Mission Produce stock opened at $12.42 on Friday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.02 and a 200-day moving average of $12.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mission Produce news, Director Bruce C. Taylor acquired 70,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.25 per share, for a total transaction of $790,683.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 855,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,628,222.50. This trade represents a 8.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 592,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.28 per share, for a total transaction of $7,874,468.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 12,963,396 shares in the company, valued at $172,153,898.88. The trade was a 4.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 3,352,161 shares of company stock worth $42,458,664 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Profile

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.