Analysts Set Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Target Price at $17.00

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 3,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.94 per share, with a total value of $44,118.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,991,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,299,429.38. The trade was a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Mission Produce during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Mission Produce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Mission Produce in the third quarter worth about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 211.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 3,158 shares during the last quarter. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of Mission Produce stock opened at $12.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $866.50 million, a P/E ratio of 26.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Mission Produce has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $15.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.00.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Mission Produce had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $278.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mission Produce will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.