Insider Buying: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Major Shareholder Buys 687,222 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 687,222 shares of Mission Produce on July 8 at an average price of $13.42, a purchase worth about $9.22 million. The filing increased its ownership to 12.37 million shares, or a 5.88% gain.
• The insider has also been aggressively adding shares in recent days, including purchases of 491,865 shares on July 7 and 650,415 shares on July 6. These repeated buys suggest strong confidence in the stock.
• Mission Produce recently authorized a $100 million share repurchase program, which would allow it to buy back up to 13.8% of its shares. The company’s stock was trading near $13.35, below the average analyst target of $16.67.

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 687,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.42 per share, for a total transaction of $9,222,519.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 12,370,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $166,011,291.38. This represents a 5.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Tuesday, July 7th, Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 491,865 shares of Mission Produce stock. The stock was acquired 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 bought 650,415 shares of Mission Produce stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.73 per share, for a total transaction of $8,279,782.95.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVO traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.35. 2,070,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,130,773. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72 and a beta of 0.49. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.07 and a 52-week high of $15.53.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in 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 buying an additional 395,287 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC raised its position in Mission Produce by 40.3% in the first quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 104,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new position in Mission Produce in the first quarter worth approximately $192,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the 1st quarter worth $23,756,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Mission Produce by 437.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 361,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,979,000 after acquiring an additional 294,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mission Produce from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Mission Produce to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.67.

About Mission Produce

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.