Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Reaches New 12-Month High on Insider Buying Activity

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $14.23 and last traded at $14.0060, with a volume of 1363102 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.12.

Specifically, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $3,750,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,461,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,269,762.50. The trade was a 3.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 324,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.37 per share, with a total value of $4,011,529.15. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,161,581 shares in the company, valued at $113,328,756.97. The trade was a 3.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 985,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.76 per share, with a total value of $11,591,879.04. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,837,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,926,483.36. This trade represents a 12.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Mission Produce Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $949.87 million, a PE ratio of 25.89 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.16 and its 200 day moving average is $12.19.

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

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 673.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Mission Produce by 211.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.