DA Davidson Reaffirms Buy Rating for SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL)

by · The Markets Daily

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL – Get Free Report) (TSE:SOY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $9.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 40.19% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Get Our Latest Report on STKL

SunOpta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STKL opened at $6.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.91. SunOpta has a one year low of $2.79 and a one year high of $7.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL – Get Free Report) (TSE:SOY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 23.23% and a positive return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $171.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SunOpta will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STKL. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SunOpta by 1,291.2% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 2,393,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,094,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221,718 shares during the period. Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in SunOpta during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Epiq Partners LLC grew its position in SunOpta by 1.3% during the first quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 295,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in SunOpta by 18.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in SunOpta by 86.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 77,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 36,172 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SunOpta

(Get Free Report)

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.

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