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Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery reiterated an Underweight rating and $12 price target on Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) Tuesday, stating the firm is still bearish on the stock.
The analyst explained that retail sales growth is continuing to decline and the early success of the plant-based meat company’s recently launched jerky is “masking a greater acceleration in declines for the rest of its portfolio.”
“Gardein, a plant-based meat competitor, launched a jerky product in June 2020 with some modest early success as well, though has since stalled, and we remain concerned that jerky may not lend itself to plant-based alternatives as well as other segments,” said Lavery.
In addition, the analyst added that the company’s Beyond sales in the week ending the 15th of May, declined 3%, but if they exclude jerky, sales declined 16%.
“While it is too early to assess the sustainability of Beyond’s jerky growth, it could follow a similar trajectory as Gardein. Even if jerky momentum remains strong near-term, we see risk to consensus estimates as they do not appear to be supported by overall near-term momentum.”
