Why Beyond Meat Stock Is Plummeting Today

Beyond Meat (BYND 10.69%) stock is falling fast in Wednesday’s trading. The company’s share price was down 10.6% as of 3:20 p.m. ET despite the S&P 500 being up 0.7% at the same point in the day’s trading. The stock had been off as much as 14.3% earlier in the session.

Beyond Meat posted its fourth-quarter results after the market closed yesterday, and the report didn’t bring the signs of a turnaround that investors were hoping for. Sales and earnings for the period came in worse than anticipated, and the company’s forward guidance was also disappointing.

Image source: Getty Images.

Beyond Meat’s Q4 results were a dud

Beyond Meat recorded a loss of $0.29 per share on sales of $61.59 million in last year’s final quarter. The average analyst estimate had only called for the business to post a loss of $0.21 per share in the period, and revenue was expected to come in roughly $410,000 higher than it did. Sales were down nearly 20% year over year in the quarter, and the company’s margins continued to weaken.

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NASDAQ: BYND

Beyond Meat

Today’s Change

(-10.69%) $-0.07

Current Price

$0.63

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$318M

Day’s Range

$0.60 - $0.66

52wk Range

$0.50 - $7.69

Volume

53M

Avg Vol

37M

Gross Margin

5.98%

What’s next for Beyond Meat?

In addition to soft results in Q4, Beyond Meat issued guidance for the current quarter that looks concerning. The company expects sales for the period to come in between $57 million and $59 million – far short of the roughly $63.5 million called for by the average analyst estimate prior to the latest earnings release.

On the heels of the company’s weak Q4 report and forward guidance, it seems likely that Beyond Meat will have to move forward with a reverse stock split. The company’s share price is below the $1 level needed to continue trading on the Nasdaq exchange, and reorganizing its share structure to boost the stock’s pure-dollar price could be a necessary move.