Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock: Insider Stephen Barnard Sells 21,646 Shares

Key Points

• Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 21,646 Mission Produce shares at an average price of $13, generating $281,398. He retained 1,684,794 shares after the transaction, reducing his ownership by 1.27%.
• Mission Produce’s stock rose 1.4% to $13.14, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.18 versus the $0.12 consensus and revenue of $450 million, up 25.8% year over year.
• The company authorized a $100 million share-repurchase program, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $16.50, despite mixed individual ratings.

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) Chairman Stephen Barnard sold 21,646 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $281,398.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,684,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,902,322. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Mission Produce Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AVO traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.14. The stock had a trading volume of 931,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,404. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 438.15 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $12.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.92. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.07 and a 52 week high of $15.53.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mission Produce announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $140,000. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVO shares. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mission Produce from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.50.

About Mission Produce

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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