Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

BYND has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Beyond Meat from $1.00 to $0.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Beyond Meat from $4.00 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $0.83.

Beyond Meat Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:BYND opened at $0.76 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $393.98 million, a P/E ratio of -0.34 and a beta of 2.77. Beyond Meat has a fifty-two week low of $0.50 and a fifty-two week high of $7.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $0.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.86.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $58.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.02 million. Beyond Meat had a net margin of 54.95% and a negative return on equity of 54.39%. Research analysts forecast that Beyond Meat will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Beyond Meat

In other news, insider Teri L. Witteman sold 29,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.00, for a total value of $29,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,178,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,178,194. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Lubi Kutua sold 419,042 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 5,749,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,449,980.20. The trade was a 6.79% decrease in their position. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 445.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,927,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,142,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105,718 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 674.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 9,788,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,027,000 after acquiring an additional 8,525,183 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,780,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,034,000 after acquiring an additional 69,423 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 497.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,383,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 7.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,012,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 70,513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.48% of the company’s stock.

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.