Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Given Buy Rating at Roth Capital

Key Points

• Roth Capital reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Mission Produce and set a $17 price target, implying approximately 30% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $16.67.
• Mission Produce reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, exceeding the $0.12 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $450 million—up 25.8% year over year and above expectations.
• The company authorized a $100 million share repurchase program, while insiders bought more than 3.3 million shares worth approximately $42 million over the past 90 days.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by stock analysts at Roth Capital in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital's price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.07% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AVO. Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.67.

Mission Produce Price Performance

Mission Produce stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.07. 309,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.91. Mission Produce has a one year low of $10.07 and a one year high of $15.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 435.31 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.89.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Mission Produce will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mission Produce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 592,957 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.28 per share, for a total transaction of $7,874,468.96. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 12,963,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $172,153,898.88. This represents a 4.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jay A. Pack purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.10 per share, with a total value of $484,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 579,965 shares in the company, valued at $7,017,576.50. This trade represents a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 3,314,711 shares of company stock worth $42,045,468. Company insiders own 30.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 228.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 95,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 66,640 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Mission Produce by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,825 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 163,304 shares of the company's stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,813 shares of the company's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 42,284 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the first quarter valued at about $581,000. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.