Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $11.60, but opened at $12.02. Mission Produce shares last traded at $11.75, with a volume of 110,104 shares trading hands.

Specifically, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 59,761 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.60 per share, with a total value of $693,227.60. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,473,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,689,386.80. This represents a 0.81% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 13,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.64 per share, with a total value of $159,223.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,413,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,292,697.68. The trade was a 0.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 15,365 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.60 per share, for a total transaction of $178,234.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,399,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,837,482.80. This trade represents a 0.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Mission Produce from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mission Produce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Mission Produce Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.17. The company has a market cap of $818.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.60 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 2.71%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mission Produce by 287.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 360,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 267,752 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 174.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 366,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,411,000 after buying an additional 233,447 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 861,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,093,000 after buying an additional 191,405 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,570,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,901,000 after acquiring an additional 159,726 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 11.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,869,000 after acquiring an additional 123,678 shares in the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.