Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two 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 target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.6667.

AVO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday. Freedom Capital upgraded Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 3,695 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.94 per share, for a total transaction of $44,118.30. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,991,577 shares in the company, valued at $119,299,429.38. This represents a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,756,000. Platform Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Mission Produce by 809.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 395,287 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 334,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Mission Produce by 437.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 361,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,979,000 after purchasing an additional 294,494 shares during the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mission Produce Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:AVO opened at $11.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Mission Produce has a fifty-two week low of $10.07 and a fifty-two week high of $15.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.90. The stock has a market cap of $989.18 million, a PE ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.50.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 1.83%.The company had revenue of $278.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mission Produce will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mission Produce Company Profile

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.