Reviewing Lavoro (NASDAQ:LVRO) & Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO)

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Lavoro (NASDAQ:LVRO) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lavoro has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mission Produce and Lavoro”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$1.39 billion	0.69	$37.70 million	$0.46	29.57
Lavoro	$6.52 billion	0.01	-$466.28 million	($1.57)	-0.19

Mission Produce has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lavoro. Lavoro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mission Produce, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Lavoro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mission Produce	2.48%	8.24%	5.00%
Lavoro	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.5% of Lavoro shares are held by institutional investors. 30.9% of Mission Produce shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Mission Produce and Lavoro, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	0	2	3	1	2.83
Lavoro	3	1	0	0	1.25

Mission Produce presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.00%. Lavoro has a consensus price target of $3.44, suggesting a potential upside of 1,030.76%. Given Lavoro’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lavoro is more favorable than Mission Produce.

Summary

Mission Produce beats Lavoro on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mission Produce

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. It also provides ripening, bagging, custom packing, logistical management, and quality assurance services. In addition, the company offers merchandising and promotional support, and insights on market trends, and training services. Mission Produce, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Oxnard, California.

About Lavoro

Lavoro Limited operates as an agricultural inputs retailer. The company operates through three segments: Brazil Cluster, LATAM Cluster, and Crop Care Cluster. It distributes agricultural inputs, such as crop protection, seeds, fertilizers, foliar fertilizers, biologicals, adjuvants, organominerals, and others for the agricultural industry. The company also produces specialty fertilizers, crop protection products, and biological crop inputs. It operates in Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. The company sells its products through its physical stores and digital channel. Lavoro Limited was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.