Beyond Meat Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:BYND)

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 192,985 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 112,550 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BYND. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Beyond Meat from $1.00 to $0.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Beyond Meat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Beyond Meat from $4.00 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Beyond Meat has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $0.83.

Beyond Meat Price Performance

Shares of BYND traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $0.95. 113,008,554 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,067,384. The firm has a market cap of $439.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.85. Beyond Meat has a 12 month low of $0.50 and a 12 month high of $7.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $0.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.98.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.17). Beyond Meat had a negative return on equity of 37.44% and a net margin of 43.98%.The firm had revenue of $61.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Beyond Meat will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lubi Kutua sold 419,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.60, for a total transaction of $251,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,749,967 shares in the company, valued at $3,449,980.20. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Teri L. Witteman sold 29,978 shares of Beyond Meat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.00, for a total value of $29,978.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,178,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,178,194. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beyond Meat

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BYND. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in Beyond Meat in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Beyond Meat during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Beyond Meat by 400.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 11,830 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 52.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.