Stephen Barnard Sells 15,000 Shares of Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total value of $196,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 35,062 shares in the company, valued at $459,312.20. This trade represents a 29.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Mission Produce Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AVO opened at $12.47 on Thursday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.07 and a twelve 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 415.81 and a beta of 0.48.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.12%.The firm had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Mission Produce’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVO. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Mission Produce by 12.0% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Mission Produce by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

About Mission Produce

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.