Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond Meat Inc., center, celebrates with his wife Tracy Brown, center left, and guests during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Beyond Meat hit a fresh all-time high in early morning trading on Tuesday, as the company continues its hot streak ahead of its earnings report next week.
The maker of the plant-based meat’s stock is up 720% since its initial public offering in May of this year. Shares hit $208.48 on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record high of $201.88 on June 18. On Monday, its stock ended the day up nearly 10%. The company is now valued at around $12.2 billion
The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter results on Monday, and analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expect it to post a loss of 8 cents per share on revenue of $52.7 million. After Beyond’s earnings report last quarter, its stock soared as high as 23% in extended trading, which hurt investors who were selling the stock short.
Short sellers borrow a stock with the expectation that its price will fall and the investor can repurchase it at a profit.
More than 15% of the shares available for trading in Beyond Meat are sold short, according to FactSet. Some have speculated its recent rally has been fueled by investors getting squeezed out of their positions.
Consumers have also come more conscious about their meat intake, growing the market for imitation meat. According to the NPD group, 18% of Americans are trying to eat less meat.
