SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.64 and last traded at $7.63, with a volume of 50033 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

SunOpta Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.90.

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

Insider Activity at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,977.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in SunOpta in the second quarter worth $42,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in SunOpta by 139.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in SunOpta during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in SunOpta in the second quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in SunOpta in the third quarter worth about $80,000. 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.