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

Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,132,043 shares, a decrease of 14.4% from the December 31st total of 1,322,863 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 773,759 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 773,759 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mission Produce news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 985,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.76 per share, for a total transaction of $11,591,879.04. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,837,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,926,483.36. The trade was a 12.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 2,222,456 shares of company stock valued at $26,966,214 in the last 90 days. 35.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mission Produce

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Mission Produce by 673.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Mission Produce during the third quarter valued at $29,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Mission Produce during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Mission Produce by 211.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mission Produce by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Mission Produce Price Performance

AVO stock opened at $13.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.26. Mission Produce has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $14.23. The company has a market capitalization of $954.11 million, a PE ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.62.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). Mission Produce had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mission Produce will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.