Auxano Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Auxano Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 96,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000. Auxano Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of SunOpta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zazove Associates LLC grew its holdings in SunOpta by 67.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 482,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after buying an additional 193,484 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in SunOpta during the third quarter worth about $922,000. Wynnefield Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wynnefield Capital Inc. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 556,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of SunOpta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,375,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 66.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 38,810 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on STKL. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.40.

SunOpta Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ STKL traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $6.55. The company had a trading volume of 479,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,513. The firm has a market cap of $775.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. SunOpta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.79 and a fifty-two week high of $8.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.58.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.04. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 4.05% and a negative net margin of 22.85%. The business had revenue of $181.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.10 million. Analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,012,019.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brian W. Kocher acquired 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at $12,012,019.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Profile

SunOpta Inc engages in manufacture and sale of plant-based and fruit-based food and beverage products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides plant-based beverages utilizing oat, almond, soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and other bases under the Dream and West Life brands; oat-based creamers under the SOWN brand; ready-to-drink protein shakes; and nut, grain, seed, and legume based beverages; packaged teas and concentrates; and meat and vegetable broths and stocks.