Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $450.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 1.83%.

Mission Produce Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AVO traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.87. 958,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,025,870. Mission Produce has a fifty-two week low of $10.07 and a fifty-two week high of $15.53. 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’s fifty day moving average is $12.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22 and a beta of 0.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVO. UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mission Produce news, Director Bruce C. Taylor purchased 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.29 per share, for a total transaction of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 455,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,456.18. This represents a 192.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 687,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.42 per share, with a total value of $9,222,519.24. Following the purchase, the insider owned 12,370,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,011,291.38. This trade represents a 5.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 3,352,161 shares of company stock valued at $42,458,664. Insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 287.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 360,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 267,752 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Mission Produce by 174.9% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 366,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 233,447 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Mission Produce by 6.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,570,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,901,000 after buying an additional 159,726 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,343,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mission Produce by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 510,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 108,124 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mission Produce declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.