Insider Buying: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Major Shareholder Buys 592,957 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 592,957 Mission Produce shares on July 9 at an average price of $13.28, a transaction worth about $7.9 million. After the purchase, the stake increased to 12.96 million shares, or roughly a 4.79% position boost.
• The shareholder has been aggressively accumulating AVO stock all week, including additional purchases on July 6, 7, and 8. Repeated insider buying can be viewed as a sign of confidence in the company’s prospects.
• Mission Produce has also authorized a $100 million share buyback, which may support the stock and suggests management believes shares are undervalued. Analysts remain generally constructive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $16.67.

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 592,957 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.28 per share, for a total transaction of $7,874,468.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,963,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $172,153,898.88. The trade was a 4.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

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

Mission Produce Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVO traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.33. 1,064,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,130,343. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.88. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.07 and a 52 week high of $15.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66 and a beta of 0.49.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the first quarter worth $23,756,000. Platform Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 809.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 395,287 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mission Produce by 12.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,024,310 shares of the company's stock worth $41,614,000 after purchasing an additional 334,629 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 294,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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