Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 82,877 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its holdings in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 728,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,877 shares during the period. SunOpta makes up about 1.0% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $5,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in SunOpta by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in SunOpta by 33.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,360 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in SunOpta by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 140,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 3,402 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in SunOpta by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 7,097 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STKL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut SunOpta from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

SunOpta Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STKL opened at $6.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $719.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.39 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. SunOpta Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.88 and a 12-month high of $8.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.20 and its 200 day moving average is $6.96.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $193.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunOpta 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.