Head to Head Review: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Edible Garden (NASDAQ:EDBL)

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Edible Garden (NASDAQ:EDBL) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Edible Garden’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%
Edible Garden	-135.30%	-1,078.80%	-97.54%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Mission Produce and Edible Garden, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	0	2	3	1	2.83
Edible Garden	1	0	0	0	1.00

Mission Produce presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.82%. Given Mission Produce’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Edible Garden.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.0% of Edible Garden shares are held by institutional investors. 30.9% of Mission Produce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Edible Garden shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edible Garden has a beta of 2.4, suggesting that its stock price is 140% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mission Produce and Edible Garden”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$1.39 billion	0.70	$37.70 million	$0.46	29.85
Edible Garden	$12.81 million	0.04	-$17.33 million	($129.11)	0.00

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

Summary

Mission Produce beats Edible Garden on 14 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 Edible Garden

Edible Garden AG Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, operate as a controlled environment agriculture farming company. It offers various packaged products, including cilantro, rosemary, mint, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, chives, poultry mix, sage, dill, buttercrunch living lettuce, basil, living butterhead lettuce, basil, parsley, arugula spring mix, baby arugula blend, baby romaine, and crisp ranch and Caesar salad kits. The company sells its products to various regional and national supermarkets. Edible Garden AG Incorporated was founded in 2020 and is based in Belvidere, New Jersey.