Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 3,390 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,390 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $70,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in SunOpta by 139.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in SunOpta in the second quarter valued at about $60,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in SunOpta in the second quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in SunOpta in the third quarter valued at about $80,000. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SunOpta Price Performance

Shares of STKL stock opened at $7.53 on Thursday. SunOpta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.37 and a fifty-two week high of $7.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $899.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.05 and a beta of 1.83. 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 stock’s 50-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 results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SunOpta

In related news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $366,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,977.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on STKL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

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.