Capula Management Ltd Invests $3.55 Million in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Capula Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 258,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,550,000. Capula Management Ltd owned about 0.36% of Mission Produce as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVO. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Mission Produce during the third quarter worth $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Mission Produce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Mission Produce by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 211.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Mission Produce by 466.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Insider Activity at Mission Produce

In related news, Director Bruce C. Taylor acquired 70,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $790,683.75. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 855,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,628,222.50. This represents a 8.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bryan E. Giles sold 5,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.13, for a total transaction of $60,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 146,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,782,273.03. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 3,352,161 shares of company stock valued at $42,458,664 over the last three months. Insiders own 30.85% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of AVO stock opened at $12.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.49. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.07 and a 1 year 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.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.