Wall Street Zen Upgrades Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) from “sell” to “hold.” Despite mixed ratings, analysts have an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $16.50.
• Mission Produce reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, exceeding estimates of $0.12, while revenue rose 25.8% year over year to $450 million. The company’s board also authorized a $100 million share repurchase program.
• Insiders purchased 3.15 million shares worth approximately $40.2 million in the latest quarter, with corporate insiders owning 30.85% of the company; institutional investors own 63.57%.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AVO. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.50.

Mission Produce Price Performance

Shares of AVO stock opened at $13.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 433.81 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Mission Produce has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.88.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mission Produce will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mission Produce declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mission Produce

In other Mission Produce news, Director Bruce C. Taylor bought 70,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $790,683.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 855,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,628,222.50. The trade was a 8.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jay A. Pack bought 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.10 per share, with a total value of $484,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 579,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,017,576.50. This trade represents a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 3,148,869 shares of company stock worth $40,194,872 in the last quarter. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the third quarter worth $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Mission Produce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Mission Produce by 211.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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