Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Short Interest Down 35.9% in June

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,219,805 shares, a decrease of 35.9% from the May 31st total of 6,578,730 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,164,839 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce C. Taylor purchased 300,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.29 per share, with a total value of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 455,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,146,456.18. This represents a 192.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan E. Giles sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.13, for a total value of $60,650.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 146,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,782,273.03. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 929,702 shares of company stock worth $10,490,901 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 228.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 95,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 66,640 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Mission Produce by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Mission Produce by 10.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 163,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Mission Produce by 179.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 42,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the first quarter worth about $581,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.54. 133,665 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,518. 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 company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.88. Mission Produce has a 1-year low of $10.07 and a 1-year high of $15.53.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Mission Produce Company Profile

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.