SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• SunOpta (STKL) has passed above its 200-day moving average
• Analyst coverage is mixed—two Buys, two Holds and one Sell—resulting in an overall consensus of Hold with an average price target of $8.00.
• Large institutions have been accumulating shares, notably CastleKnight Management boosting its stake by 334.9% to about 8.2 million shares, and institutional ownership now stands at 85.39%.

SunOpta, Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL - Get Free Report) TSE: SOY passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.21 and traded as high as $6.50. SunOpta shares last traded at $6.49, with a volume of 519,941 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair cut SunOpta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of SunOpta in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.00.

SunOpta Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $786.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunOpta

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STKL. CastleKnight Management LP boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 334.9% in the fourth quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 8,204,844 shares of the company's stock worth $31,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,318,125 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,462,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059,976 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 2,148,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,163,000 after acquiring an additional 899,275 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in SunOpta during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,746,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 965,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,669,000 after acquiring an additional 459,049 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SunOpta

SunOpta Inc NASDAQ: STKL is a Canada-based company specializing in the sourcing, processing and packaging of organic and non-GMO plant-based foods and beverages. The company's product portfolio spans a wide range of offerings, including non-dairy beverages such as oat, almond, soy and coconut drinks, fruit and plant-based beverages, and ingredient solutions for food manufacturers and foodservice customers. SunOpta's integrated supply chain extends from ingredient sourcing and raw material preparation through to finished product formulation and packaging.

SunOpta operates through two primary business segments: Global Beverages and Global Ingredients.

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