Insider Buying: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Major Shareholder Buys $7,874,468.96 in Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 592,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.28 per share, for a total transaction of $7,874,468.96. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 12,963,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,153,898.88. This trade represents a 4.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Holdings Venture Globalharvest also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 8th, Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 687,222 shares of Mission Produce stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.42 per share, with a total value of $9,222,519.24.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 491,865 shares of Mission Produce stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.40 per share, with a total value of $6,590,991.00.
• On Monday, July 6th, Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 650,415 shares of Mission Produce stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.73 per share, for a total transaction of $8,279,782.95.

Mission Produce Price Performance

AVO opened at $13.33 on Monday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66 and a beta of 0.49.

Mission Produce declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVO. Fruth Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the second quarter worth $282,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 809.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,111,000 after acquiring an additional 395,287 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 40.3% in the first quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in Mission Produce during the first quarter worth about $192,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in Mission Produce during the first quarter worth about $23,756,000. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mission Produce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Key Mission Produce News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest continued building its stake, buying another 1.18 million shares for about $15.8 million after earlier purchases this week. That kind of repeated insider buying is often viewed as a vote of confidence in the business and may be supporting the stock. Mission Produce Stockholder Raises Stake by Nearly 1.2 Million Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Mission Produce also advanced its $100 million share repurchase program, which can signal management believes the shares are undervalued and may provide support to the stock. Mission Produce Advances $100 Million Share Buyback Program
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with coverage pointing to a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a price target above recent trading levels, reinforcing the idea that investors are viewing AVO favorably. Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Mission Produce’s first-quarter earnings results with other perishable food stocks, but no major new catalyst or surprise was highlighted in the headline itself. Q1 earnings highs and lows: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) vs the rest of the perishable food stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a market roundup piece mentioning AVO among other stocks, but it did not indicate any company-specific news. 1 mooning stock to target this week and 2 that underwhelm

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.