Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.16, but opened at $1.38. Beyond Meat shares last traded at $1.2450, with a volume of 158,249,801 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BYND shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on 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. Zacks Research cut Beyond Meat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Beyond Meat from $1.00 to $0.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $0.83.

Beyond Meat Trading Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $530.78 million, a P/E ratio of -0.40 and a beta of 2.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.04.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $61.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.00 million. Beyond Meat had a negative return on equity of 37.44% and a net margin of 43.98%. Sell-side analysts predict that Beyond Meat, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,749,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,449,980.20. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beyond Meat

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Beyond Meat by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 5,143 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Beyond Meat by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 6,020 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Beyond Meat during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Beyond Meat by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Beyond Meat by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 10,924 shares in the last quarter. 52.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.