SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on STKL. DA Davidson increased their price objective on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $9.40.

SunOpta Trading Down 0.4 %

STKL opened at $5.30 on Wednesday. SunOpta has a 52 week low of $2.79 and a 52 week high of $7.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.78. The firm has a market cap of $627.15 million, a P/E ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The business had revenue of $182.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.87 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 2.50% and a negative net margin of 24.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that SunOpta will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In related news, CEO Brian W. Kocher acquired 36,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other SunOpta news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,743,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,012,019.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian W. Kocher bought 36,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.75 per share, with a total value of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in SunOpta by 18.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in SunOpta by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 60,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in SunOpta by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in SunOpta by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in SunOpta by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

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.