Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Short Interest Update

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, a decrease of 23.6% from the October 31st total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 315,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVO. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Mission Produce from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of AVO traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 177,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,566. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.59. Mission Produce has a 1-year low of $8.28 and a 1-year high of $14.17. The stock has a market cap of $943.10 million, a P/E ratio of 40.30 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.23. Mission Produce had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $324.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mission Produce will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Taylor Family Investments, Llc sold 100,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.25, for a total transaction of $1,326,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,630,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,347,526.50. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jay A. Pack sold 72,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $958,318.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 384,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,118,145.90. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 296,059 shares of company stock valued at $3,920,360 in the last 90 days. 41.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Mission Produce by 25.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,327,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,113,000 after purchasing an additional 266,489 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the 3rd quarter worth $1,939,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 202.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 215,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,125,000 after buying an additional 143,858 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the 1st quarter worth $1,331,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the third quarter valued at about $1,295,000. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries.