Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Shares in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL - Free Report) TSE: SOY during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 167,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,289,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.14% of SunOpta as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in SunOpta by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,761,922 shares of the company's stock worth $13,567,000 after purchasing an additional 698,004 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 1,015.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 587,749 shares of the company's stock worth $4,526,000 after purchasing an additional 535,034 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of SunOpta by 187.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 367,740 shares of the company's stock worth $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 240,000 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,731,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,331,000 after purchasing an additional 192,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other news, SVP Bryan P. Clark sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $45,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,758. This represents a 23.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SunOpta Price Performance

NASDAQ STKL traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,641,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,866. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.45. The company has a market cap of $568.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.39 and a beta of 1.83. SunOpta Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.65 and a 52-week high of $8.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL - Get Free Report) TSE: SOY last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. The firm had revenue of $193.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.90 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. Equities analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SunOpta Profile

SunOpta Inc engages in manufacture and sale of plant-based and fruit-based food and beverage products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides plant-based beverages utilizing oat, almond, soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and other bases under the Dream and West Life brands; oat-based creamers under the SOWN brand; ready-to-drink protein shakes; and nut, grain, seed, and legume based beverages; packaged teas and concentrates; and meat and vegetable broths and stocks.