Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Chairman Stephen Barnard Sells 35,562 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 35,562 Mission Produce shares at an average price of $12.55, generating approximately $446,303 in proceeds.
• Mission Produce shares fell 0.8% to $12.80, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.18 and revenue of $450 million—both above analyst expectations.
• The company authorized a $100 million share buyback, covering up to 13.8% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $16.50.

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 35,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.55, for a total value of $446,303.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mission Produce Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AVO stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.80. 1,192,587 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,023. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.07 and a 1 year high of $15.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 426.81 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.81.

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 (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Mission Produce from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Mission Produce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mission Produce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter worth $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the second quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the second quarter valued at $140,000. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc NASDAQ: AVO is an avocado sourcing, production, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh Hass avocados and other avocado varieties to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers, managing activities across the supply chain from growing and procurement to ripening, packing and delivery.

Mission Produce works with avocado growers and operates or manages production and distribution activities in several major growing regions, including Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and the United States.

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