Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVO. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Friday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mission Produce from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th.

Mission Produce Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AVO opened at $11.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 391.13 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $12.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.78. Mission Produce has a 1 year low of $10.07 and a 1 year high of $15.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $450.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mission Produce will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Key Mission Produce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mission Produce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating and set a $15 price target, implying roughly 28% upside from the referenced share price. The endorsement suggests the firm believes Mission Produce’s valuation and growth prospects are attractive. Benzinga analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: At its investor day, Mission Produce outlined targets for mid-single-digit organic sales growth and 300 basis points of margin expansion over the next five years. Management also set a 2035 ambition to double sales and triple adjusted EBITDA, with the strategy intended to support high-single-digit to double-digit annual shareholder returns over time. Mission Produce investor day targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor coverage is focused on whether the company can convert its avocado sourcing, production and distribution strategy into sustained profit growth. The targets offer a longer-term framework, but execution and margin improvement remain important risks for investors. Investor day slideshow
• Negative Sentiment: Mission Produce shares recently fell about 5.8%, while coverage also noted the stock was down 6.8% since its latest earnings report. The decline indicates that investors may have viewed the investor-day outlook as insufficient to offset near-term concerns or may be taking profits after prior earnings-related gains. Why Mission Produce shares are declining
• Negative Sentiment: With a very high reported P/E ratio and minimal net margin, AVO’s valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Investors may therefore be demanding clearer evidence of near-term earnings acceleration before fully crediting the 2035 ambitions. Mission Produce valuation analysis

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mission Produce news, Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 21,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $281,398.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,684,794 shares in the company, valued at $21,902,322. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 250,062 shares of company stock worth $3,238,747. Corporate insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 36.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,775,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,300,000 after buying an additional 1,286,263 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP grew its position in Mission Produce by 258.5% during the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 3,976,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,880,000 after buying an additional 2,867,072 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mission Produce by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,024,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,614,000 after acquiring an additional 334,629 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in Mission Produce in the 1st quarter worth about $23,756,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,423,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,778,000 after acquiring an additional 416,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc is a global avocado sourcing, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh avocados to retailers, foodservice operators, wholesalers and other customers, managing activities that include procurement, quality control, ripening, packaging and distribution.

Mission Produce sources avocados from growing regions in North and South America and other international markets. Its operations are supported by ripening and distribution facilities designed to provide customers with avocados at different stages of readiness.