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

Shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $11.60, but opened at $12.02. Mission Produce shares last traded at $11.75, with a volume of 110,104 shares changing hands.

Specifically, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 59,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.60 per share, for a total transaction of $693,227.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,473,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,689,386.80. This represents a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 13,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.64 per share, with a total value of $159,223.56. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,413,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,292,697.68. This trade represents a 0.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other Mission Produce news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 15,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.60 per share, with a total value of $178,234.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 7,399,783 shares in the company, valued at $85,837,482.80. This represents a 0.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AVO shares. Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Mission Produce from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Mission Produce

Here are the key news stories impacting Mission Produce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest accumulated ~201,000 AVO shares across Dec. 23–29 (largest tranche 112,505 on Dec. 23), spending roughly $2.34M and boosting its stake to ~7.47M shares — a bullish signal of insider confidence that can support near‑term buying interest. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlights Mission Produce’s push to scale its mango business (diversified sourcing and logistics to create more consistent year‑round supply). This is a potential growth angle but remains mid/long‑term and execution‑dependent. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Dec. 18) showed a small EPS miss (reported $0.22 vs. $0.23 expected) and revenue fell ~10% year‑over‑year despite beating the revenue estimate — a reminder of near‑term margin and volume pressures that could cap upside until growth stabilizes. Read More.

Mission Produce Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $829.20 million, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.17.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). Mission Produce had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 2.71%.The company had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mission Produce during the third quarter worth about $629,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $95,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Mission Produce by 27.2% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 342,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,114,000 after acquiring an additional 73,223 shares during the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.