Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor Purchases 300,000 Shares of Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor purchased 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.29 per share, with a total value of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 455,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,146,456.18. This represents a 192.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Mission Produce Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of AVO opened at $12.18 on Thursday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.07 and a 52-week high of $15.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.06 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mission Produce by 12.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,024,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,614,000 after acquiring an additional 334,629 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the first quarter valued at $23,756,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mission Produce by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,166,000 after purchasing an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Platform Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 4th quarter valued at $12,130,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 510,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 108,124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

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.