SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.81 and last traded at $7.77, with a volume of 70169 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

SunOpta Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $928.28 million, a P/E ratio of -42.78 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.97.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The business had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at $822,430. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,977.43. The trade was a 53.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SunOpta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STKL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 321.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 467,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,525,000 after buying an additional 356,700 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SunOpta by 11.2% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,198,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,273,000 after purchasing an additional 323,397 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SunOpta by 7.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 642,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 44,905 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in SunOpta during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,394,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in SunOpta by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,538,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 130,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

About SunOpta

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.