Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Beyond Meat Put Options (NASDAQ:BYND)

Key Points

• Beyond Meat saw a significant increase in options trading with investors purchasing 28,653 put options, a 97% rise compared to average volumes.
• The company's stock fell by 3.8% to $3.71, with a market cap of $283.32 million and a P/E ratio of -1.63.
• Beyond Meat reported a quarterly loss of ($0.67) EPS, missing estimates and showing a 9.1% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts from Barclays lowered their price target for Beyond Meat's shares from $3.00 to $2.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating.

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 28,653 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 97% compared to the average volume of 14,548 put options.

Beyond Meat Trading Down 3.8%

Beyond Meat stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $3.71. 1,042,097 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,745,186. The firm has a market cap of $283.32 million, a P/E ratio of -1.63 and a beta of 2.19. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $3.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.31. Beyond Meat has a 1 year low of $2.22 and a 1 year high of $9.24.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.67) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by ($0.15). The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.84) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Beyond Meat will post -2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,113,869 shares of the company's stock worth $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 354,965 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432,180 shares of the company's stock worth $5,387,000 after purchasing an additional 18,438 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 5,060.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,187,011 shares of the company's stock worth $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,007 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 619,957 shares of the company's stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 263,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 595,612 shares of the company's stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 52,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Beyond Meat from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

About Beyond Meat

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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