State Street Corp Acquires 290,372 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

State Street Corp grew its stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL - Free Report) TSE: SOY by 18.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,827,273 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 290,372 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 1.53% of SunOpta worth $11,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of SunOpta by 7.9% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 25,409 shares of the company's stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 0.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 254,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in SunOpta by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in SunOpta by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,360 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of SunOpta by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their price target on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SunOpta presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In related 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 transaction of $366,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,977.43. The trade was a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $99,616.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 108,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $822,430. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SunOpta Price Performance

Shares of STKL stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.88. 292,156 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 785,422. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.53 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 simple moving average is $7.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.33. The company has a market capitalization of $941.99 million, a PE ratio of -43.78 and a beta of 1.78.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL - Get Free Report) TSE: SOY last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.30 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current 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.