Insider Buying: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Buys 25,281 Shares of Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Jay Pack acquired 25,281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.03 per share, for a total transaction of $278,849.43. Following the transaction, the director owned 429,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,734,583.38. This represents a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mission Produce Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AVO stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $11.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,182,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,911. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.91. 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 company has a market cap of $987.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 0.51. Mission Produce, Inc. has a one year low of $10.07 and a one year high of $15.53.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $278.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.33 million. Mission Produce had a net margin of 1.83% and a return on equity of 6.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 228.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 95,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 66,640 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 163,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Mission Produce by 179.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 42,284 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mission Produce during the first quarter worth about $581,000. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AVO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

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.