Key Points
- Insider sale: Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 111,358 Mission Produce shares at an average price of $13.01, reducing his stake by 6.16% to 1.70 million shares.
- Quarterly performance: Mission Produce reported earnings of $0.18 per share, beating estimates by $0.06, while revenue rose 25.8% year over year to $450 million.
- Investor outlook: The company authorized a $100 million share-repurchase program covering up to 13.8% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $16.50 average price target, versus a recent share price of $12.70.
Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 111,358 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.01, for a total transaction of $1,448,767.58. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,695,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,054,356.85. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.
Mission Produce Stock Performance
AVO stock opened at $12.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 423.47 and a beta of 0.48. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.07 and a 12-month high of $15.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.79.
Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.12%.The company's revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Mission Produce announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVO. 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. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.50.
View Our Latest Research Report on Mission Produce
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter worth $140,000. 63.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Mission Produce Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Mission Produce, Inc (NASDAQ:AVO) is an avocado sourcing, production, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh Hass avocados and other avocado varieties to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers, managing activities across the supply chain from growing and procurement to ripening, packing and delivery.
Mission Produce works with avocado growers and operates or manages production and distribution activities in several major growing regions, including Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and the United States.
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