Bruce Taylor Buys 286,410 Shares of Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Stock

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Director Bruce Taylor bought 286,410 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.27 per share, for a total transaction of $3,227,840.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 755,842 shares in the company, valued at $8,518,339.34. This represents a 61.01% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Mission Produce Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of AVO stock opened at $11.71 on Wednesday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.07 and a 52-week high of $15.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.88.

Mission Produce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVO. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 1st quarter worth $23,756,000. Platform Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Mission Produce by 809.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,111,000 after acquiring an additional 395,287 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mission Produce by 12.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,024,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,614,000 after acquiring an additional 334,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Mission Produce by 437.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 361,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,979,000 after acquiring an additional 294,494 shares during the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVO. Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.