Bruce Taylor Purchases 29,717 Shares of Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor bought 29,717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.36 per share, for a total transaction of $337,585.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 785,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,923,950.24. This trade represents a 3.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of AVO opened at $12.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06 and a beta of 0.50. Mission Produce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.07 and a twelve month high of $15.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.88.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position 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 worth $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 395,287 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC increased its stake in Mission Produce by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the 1st quarter valued at $192,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the 1st quarter worth about $23,756,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Mission Produce by 437.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 361,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,979,000 after buying an additional 294,494 shares in the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.