Beyond Meat Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:BYND)

Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 120,195 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the average volume of 81,521 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beyond Meat

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Beyond Meat during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,753,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Beyond Meat by 674.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 9,788,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,027,000 after buying an additional 8,525,183 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Beyond Meat by 445.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,927,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,142,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105,718 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 2,816,778 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Beyond Meat in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $933,000. 52.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Beyond Meat Price Performance

Shares of BYND stock opened at $0.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $0.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.73. Beyond Meat has a 12 month low of $0.41 and a 12 month high of $7.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.57, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a market capitalization of $215.41 million, a PE ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 2.78.

Beyond Meat shares are going to reverse split before the market opens on Friday, August 14th. The 1-30 reverse split was announced on Tuesday, August 11th. The number of shares owned by shareholders will be adjusted after the closing bell on Thursday, August 13th.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.01). Beyond Meat had a net margin of 75.40% and a negative return on equity of 100.55%. The firm had revenue of $68.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.43 million. Analysts predict that Beyond Meat will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BYND. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Beyond Meat from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Beyond Meat in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Beyond Meat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $0.82.

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.