On Monday, shares of Beyond Meat (BYND) were up more than 15% on a volume spike to 4.3 million shares, as compared to daily average volume of 4.06 million.
This is all thanks to news that Barclays’ analyst Benjamin Theurer upgraded the BYND stock to an overweight rating, with a price target of $80 a share. In a note to clients, Theurer explained the change: “We believe Beyond Meat’s growth potential in the U.S. food service channel and the international segment is not properly reflected in the current stock price.”
Even better, BYND has been aggressively bringing its plant-based products to the fast-food market. For example, McDonald’s recently said it would roll out a test of BYND’s plant-based burgers in about 600 restaurants in Texas. The company is also launching a vegan beef jerky snack with Pepsico, and it just released its chicken alternative with Kentucky Fried Chicken.
While BYND hasn’t been so hot, don’t write it off just yet.
With millions of people all over the world switching to healthier, plant-based diets, we may be looking at a potential trillion-dollar-market opportunity as people seek out plant-based versions of meats, cheeses, dairy products, even desserts.
Not only has Ben & Jerry’s introduced vegan ice cream, but Cold Stone Creamery also rolled out one of its own.
Even Breyer’s has introduced two new vegan offerings.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Unilever CEO Alan Jope said, of the increase in vegan products available to consumers: “Every single country in the world is shifting towards more plant-based diets.”
In the same interview, Jope later added: “The first thing we’re concerned to do is make sure that our big brands like Knorr and Hellmans have got attractive plant-based offerings. So, that’s really the main course—making sure veggie and vegan consumers have got options in the Knorr and Hellman’s range. Those have been growing very quickly for us. Can you even believe that we have plant-based Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and a vegan magnum?”
No wonder analysts at Credit Suisse say the plant-based food market could increase a hundredfold, to $1.4 trillion over the next 30 years.
So once again, while the Beyond Meat stock isn’t looking so hot, don’t write it off. With millions, if not billions of people switching to plant-based food, we wouldn’t be shocked to see BYND stock double from its current price of $65 a share.
— Ian Cooper
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Source: Investors Alley