Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $11.81, but opened at $12.25. Mission Produce shares last traded at $12.0650, with a volume of 83,297 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Luis Gonzalez purchased 22,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.22 per share, with a total value of $247,131.72. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,026,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,833,571.30. This trade represents a 0.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Luis Gonzalez purchased 29,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.59 per share, for a total transaction of $347,653.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,004,139 shares in the company, valued at $81,177,971.01. This trade represents a 0.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mission Produce from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Mission Produce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.00.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 403.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.76.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $450.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 258.5% in the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 3,976,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,880,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867,072 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the first quarter valued at $23,756,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 36.9% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,775,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,263 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 41.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,423,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,778,000 after purchasing an additional 416,126 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 809.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 395,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc is a global avocado sourcing, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh avocados to retailers, foodservice operators, wholesalers and other customers, managing activities that include procurement, quality control, ripening, packaging and distribution.

Mission Produce sources avocados from growing regions in North and South America and other international markets. Its operations are supported by ripening and distribution facilities designed to provide customers with avocados at different stages of readiness.