Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Takes $505,000 Position in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 42,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. owned 0.06% of Mission Produce at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mission Produce by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 861,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,093,000 after buying an additional 191,405 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mission Produce by 11.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,869,000 after acquiring an additional 123,678 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 11.7% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 149,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 15,655 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 57.0% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 12,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 47.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 213,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,507,000 after acquiring an additional 69,205 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVO shares. Zacks Research downgraded Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Mission Produce Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AVO opened at $13.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $939.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 0.56. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $14.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.22.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). Mission Produce had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 2.71%.The business had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mission Produce

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 985,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.76 per share, for a total transaction of $11,591,879.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,837,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,926,483.36. The trade was a 12.55% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 2,272,295 shares of company stock valued at $27,548,840. 35.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mission Produce 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.