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Investing.com - Beyond Meat Inc . (NASDAQ:BYND) maintained its Underperform rating and $2.00 price target from Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) on Wednesday. The company’s stock, currently trading at $2.46, has declined nearly 60% over the past year, with InvestingPro data showing concerning fundamentals including significant debt levels and weak gross profit margins of 11.3%.
The plant-based meat company recorded a 24% decline in 4-week sales and a 25% drop in 12-week sales, including a 26% volume decrease over the most recent 4-week period, according to Mizuho’s analysis.
The broader plant meat category has now experienced declining volume for 58 consecutive four-week periods, with the latest showing a 6% drop. Beyond Meat’s approximately 43% price-per-pound premium compared to the rest of the category has contributed to its market share losses of 250 basis points in value and 230 basis points in volume.
Mizuho noted that Beyond Meat’s performance was the weakest among the companies it tracks in the alternative food space, which included Simply Good Foods’ Atkins and Quest brands.
The firm also highlighted that Quest brands showed 9% sales growth in both 4-week and 12-week periods, while OWYN recorded 16% growth in 4-week sales, contrasting sharply with Beyond Meat’s continued decline.
In other recent news, Beyond Meat reported its second-quarter financial results, revealing a revenue of $75 million, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $81.8 million. Additionally, the company posted an earnings per share of -$0.40, slightly below the forecast of -$0.38. This shortfall in revenue and earnings has raised concerns among investors and analysts about the company’s financial health. BMO Capital responded by lowering its price target for Beyond Meat to $4.00, citing the disappointing quarterly results, while maintaining a Market Perform rating. Oppenheimer also adjusted its price target slightly to $2.83, maintaining a Perform rating, and noted the ongoing challenges in demand. Meanwhile, JPMorgan assumed coverage of Beyond Meat with an Underweight rating, pointing to market share pressure in a declining consumer demand environment. Amid these developments, Beyond Meat has denied recent speculation about potential bankruptcy, emphasizing that it has no plans to file for Chapter 11. These recent developments highlight the challenges facing Beyond Meat as it navigates a difficult market landscape.
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