Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) Shares Down 6.1% – Should You Sell?

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) shares dropped 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.01 and last traded at $13.95. Approximately 444,221 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 832,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVO. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Mission Produce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Mission Produce Trading Down 6.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $988.36 million, a P/E ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.76.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 2.48%.The business had revenue of $278.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Mission Produce’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest bought 985,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $103,926,483.36. This trade represents a 12.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders bought 1,922,714 shares of company stock valued at $23,453,205 in the last ninety days. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mission Produce

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVO. Platform Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mission Produce in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,130,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mission Produce by 287.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 360,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after buying an additional 267,752 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 174.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 366,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,411,000 after acquiring an additional 233,447 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mission Produce by 6.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,570,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,901,000 after acquiring an additional 159,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the fourth quarter worth about $1,343,000. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.