Beyond Meat Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:BYND)

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 650,758 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 128% compared to the typical volume of 285,925 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BYND shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Beyond Meat from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Cowen reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus downgraded Beyond Meat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Beyond Meat from $2.00 to $0.80 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Beyond Meat has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Beyond Meat by 8.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 573,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 46,540 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 144.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 71,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 41,974 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 1st quarter valued at about $555,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 167.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 22,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Beyond Meat during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 52.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Beyond Meat Stock Up 13.0%

Shares of Beyond Meat stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 72,982,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,387,609. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $532.94 million, a P/E ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 2.51. Beyond Meat has a 12-month low of $0.50 and a 12-month high of $7.69.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $70.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.82 million. Research analysts predict that Beyond Meat will post -2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Beyond Meat Company Profile

Beyond Meat, Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) develops, manufactures and sells plant-based meat substitutes designed to replicate the taste, texture and appearance of animal-based proteins. Since its founding in 2009 by Ethan Brown and initial public offering in 2019, the company has focused on leveraging proprietary technology and ingredient blends to produce a suite of products that cater to both retail and foodservice channels. Beyond Meat’s mission centers on offering more sustainable protein options by reducing reliance on livestock farming and its associated environmental footprint.

The company’s product portfolio includes Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, Beyond Beef and Beyond Chicken, each formulated to appeal to a broad range of consumers seeking meat alternatives without compromising on flavor or cooking versatility.