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

Key Points

• Beyond Meat experienced unusually high options trading, with investors acquiring 110,588 call options, a 151% increase over the average volume.
• Multiple brokerages recently downgraded Beyond Meat's stock ratings, with price targets falling as low as $0.80 and an average rating of "Strong Sell."
• Despite a 24.6% increase in stock price one day, Beyond Meat reported disappointing quarterly earnings, missing estimates with a revenue of $74.96 million, down 19.5% year-over-year.

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 110,588 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 151% compared to the typical volume of 44,024 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BYND. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Beyond Meat from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Beyond Meat from $2.00 to $0.80 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus cut Beyond Meat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $2.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chiron Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.48% of the company's stock.

Beyond Meat Stock Up 24.6%

Shares of BYND traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $0.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,111,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,506,168. Beyond Meat has a fifty-two week low of $0.50 and a fifty-two week high of $6.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.30 and a beta of 2.33.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $74.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $85.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.53) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Beyond Meat will post -2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Beyond Meat Company Profile

Beyond Meat, Inc, a plant-based meat company, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells plant-based meat products in the United States and internationally. The company sells a range of plant-based meat products across the platforms of beef, pork, and poultry. It sells its products through grocery, mass merchandiser, club stores, and natural retailer channels, as well as various food-away-from-home channels, including restaurants, foodservice outlets, and schools.

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