Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

AVO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of Mission Produce stock opened at $11.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $989.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.80 and its 200 day moving average is $12.90. 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 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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

Mission Produce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mission Produce news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 3,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.94 per share, with a total value of $44,118.30. Following the transaction, the insider 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Platform Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mission Produce in the 4th quarter worth about $12,130,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Mission Produce by 1,889.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 37,969 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Mission Produce by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the 4th quarter valued at about $725,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Mission Produce by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 491,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 47,519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

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.