Shares of Beyond Meat Inc. took a deed Thursday, aft Piper Sandler expert Michael Lavery turned bearish connected the plant-based nutrient company, citing a weaker maturation outlook and interest the outlook for foodservice income whitethorn beryllium overly optimistic.
The banal BYND, -4.37% sank 3.5% successful greeting trading, putting them connected way to adjacent astatine a four-month low.
Lavery downgraded the banal to underweight, aft being astatine neutral for the past 8 months. He chopped his terms people to $95, which is astir 11% beneath Wednesday’s closing price, from $120.
“Beyond is an aboriginal person successful plant-based meat, but we judge its existent all-channel retail momentum lags statement expectations, and our foodservice estimates whitethorn beryllium high, too,” Lavery wrote successful a enactment to clients.
He estimates that the company’s U.S. retail income fell by astir 10% successful the 3rd quarter, with multi-outlet with convenience store transmission income down 8% and earthy transmission income down 27%.
“Beyond’s retail income declines are worse than each of its nutrient peers successful our sum too B&G Foods,” Lavery wrote. He rates B&G BGS, -0.39% astatine neutral.
Beyond Meat is projected to study third-quarter results astir the opening of November. The existent FactSet statement is for per-share losses to constrictive to 29 cents from 31 cents a twelvemonth ago, portion full income are expected to emergence 42.4% to $134.4 million.
Also read: Why Beyond Meat could spot a large boost successful income beyond the pandemic.
Regarding U.S. foodservice sales, Lavery said it’s “difficult” to exemplary sequential sales, and utilizing estimates of income from caller and existing stores suggests his ain outlook could beryllium “optimistic.”
He wrote that his “bottoms-up physique suggests a apt level of U.S. foodservice income ~$50 cardinal beneath our estimates implicit the adjacent 4 quarters.”
Beyond Meat’s banal has dropped 14.4% twelvemonth to date, portion B&G shares person gained 6.4% and the S&P 500 scale SPX, -0.38% has climbed 19.3%.