Insider Buying: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Purchases 155,842 Shares of Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor bought 155,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.16 per share, for a total transaction of $1,739,196.72. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 155,842 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,196.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mission Produce Price Performance

AVO traded down $0.02 on Monday, hitting $11.18. 2,187,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,046,993. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.91. The firm has a market cap of $987.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 0.51. Mission Produce, Inc. has a one year low of $10.07 and a one year high of $15.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $278.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.33 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 1.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Mission Produce announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Mission Produce by 809.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. RBF Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 40.3% during the first 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 period. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the first quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,756,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 437.3% in the first 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 during the period. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVO. Freedom Capital raised Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.