Rubric Capital Management LP Acquires New Shares in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,726,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,756,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Mission Produce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 100,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 12.6% during the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 12,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 12.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 12.0% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of AVO opened at $12.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.00. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.07 and a 12 month high of $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Mission Produce announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Mission Produce

In related news, Director Bruce C. Taylor bought 300,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.29 per share, for a total transaction of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 455,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,456.18. The trade was a 192.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 687,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.42 per share, with a total value of $9,222,519.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,370,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,011,291.38. This trade represents a 5.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 3,352,161 shares of company stock worth $42,458,664 over the last ninety days. 30.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.