Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND)

Key Points

• Traders have purchased a total of 27,715 call options for Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), marking a 69% increase from its typical trading volume of 16,402 call options.
• Beyond Meat's stock price rose by 4.5% on Monday, closing at $2.80, despite its recent earnings report showing a revenue decline of 19.5% year-over-year.
• Analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" for Beyond Meat, with an average price target set at $3.00, following multiple downgrades from various financial institutions.

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 27,715 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the average daily volume of 16,402 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYND has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Beyond Meat in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Beyond Meat from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Beyond Meat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Beyond Meat currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Beyond Meat Stock Up 2.2%

Beyond Meat stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $2.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,117,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,077. The firm has a market cap of $216.92 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.99. Beyond Meat has a one year low of $2.22 and a one year high of $7.60.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $74.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $85.71 million. Beyond Meat's revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.53) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Beyond Meat will post -2.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in Beyond Meat during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Chiron Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Beyond Meat during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Beyond Meat during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC bought a new stake in Beyond Meat during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 52.48% of the company's stock.

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.