SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

SunOpta, Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $8.00. The stock had previously closed at $5.26, but opened at $4.55. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. SunOpta shares last traded at $4.2740, with a volume of 4,406,382 shares traded.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered SunOpta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SunOpta has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SunOpta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in SunOpta by 11.9% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of SunOpta by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in SunOpta by 3.3% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 72,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in SunOpta by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in SunOpta by 2.8% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares in the last quarter. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SunOpta Stock Down 22.9%

The stock has a market cap of $489.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.75 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 12.82% and a negative net margin of 0.66%.The business had revenue of $205.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. SunOpta has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SunOpta, Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunOpta Company 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.