Short-sellers pile into Beyond Meat as investors doubt plant-based meat boom
Short sellers have piled into the US plant-based meat firm Beyond Meat as investors begin to question the advent of the plant-based meat boom, according to reports.
The firm reported a third-quarter sales slump and cut revenue guidance for the final quarter of the year, leading to short positions increasing by 40 per cent since late October, the Financial Times reported.
Short positions, which offer investors returns when share prices fall, made up 42 per cent of Beyond Meat’s traded shares, according to specialist data provider S3 Partners.
James Chanos, founder of New York-based hedge fund Kynikos Associates, told the FT that while many investors still expected the plant-based meat market to grow, the reality for Beyond Meat was the opposite.
He said: “The problem in Beyond Meat’s case is that it’s stopped being the case. It’s a juxtaposition of the reality versus the hope.”
The share price of the company has failed to respond to positive announcements from the firm including KFS announcing the launch of Beyond Meat ‘chicken’ nuggets.v
Arun Sundaram, analyst at CFRA, told the FT: “Investors are more concerned about the margin headwinds we’ve seen since the last quarter.”
Beyond Meat is trading at 46% below its price a year ago.