JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 12.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 515,170 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,621 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STKL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in SunOpta by 28.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,001,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after buying an additional 222,404 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the 2nd quarter worth $277,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of SunOpta by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 46,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 12,996 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 193.8% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 51,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in SunOpta in the second quarter worth $63,000. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on STKL shares. StockNews.com upgraded SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

SunOpta Price Performance

Shares of SunOpta stock opened at $7.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $872.64 million, a P/E ratio of -40.55 and a beta of 1.80. SunOpta Inc. has a one year low of $4.88 and a one year high of $8.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.59.

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

Insider Activity at SunOpta

In related news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $822,430. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.