Beyond Meat earnings preview: What to look out for

• Beyond Meat Inc (Nasdaq: BYND) share price falls to US$121.57 per share
• Its top-line could grow 16.6% for the first quarter this year, analysts believe
• Research teams on average targeted the stock to hit US$126.12
• JPMorgan does not see many positive catalysts for BYND in the short run
• Buy and sell Beyond Meat shares with an IG account

What’s the forecast on Beyond Meat’s stock?

Shares of Beyond Meat - which dominates the plant-based meat market alongside the likes of Impossible Foods - extended their week-long decline to finish at US$121.57 per share on Wednesday (05 May 2021), down 2.6% day-on-day.

The stock has lost 9.4% since inching up to S$134.22 on 28 April 2021. Year-to-date, BYND shares are down about 2.7%.

Out of 24 analysts, 11 recommended ‘hold’ on BYND shares, eight rated it ‘sell’, while five gave ‘buy’ calls as of Wednesday. Their average 12-month target price stood at US$126.12 per share, according to Bloomberg data.

JPMorgan, which has an ‘underweight’ rating on BYND shares, said there are few positive catalysts in the near term, given that the recent positive news flow of Beyond Meat adding McDonald’s, Yum Brands and additional retailers ‘is already baked into the story’.

It is also ‘hard not to notice that the stock consistently finds support around US$125’, JPMorgan added.

Beyond Meat 1Q21 results: What to watch

After the market closes on Thursday (06 May 2021), Beyond Meat will report its earnings for its first quarter ended 03 April 2021.

Reuters noted that investors will want to hear the Los Angeles-based food company’s forecast for the year and more about its partnerships with McDonald’s, Yum Brands, and PepsiCo.

Beyond Meat is expected to report higher revenue, helped by its vast retail presence and as more consumers, encouraged by vaccination programmes, visit restaurants, Reuters said.

Analysts forecast first-quarter revenue to grow 16.6% year-on-year to US$113.2 million, from US$97.1 million in 1Q2020, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Net loss could come in at US$11.2 million or US$0.186 per share, even though volumes sold during the quarter may climb 51%, the Wall Street research teams predicted.

What might weigh on Beyond Meat’s earnings?

Sales and profit for the plant-based meat substitutes producer may ‘remain pressured’ in 1Q2021 as its weak food-service segment persists and the company continues to invest for growth, Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) believes.

BI predicted that Beyond Meat’s food-service revenue for the quarter will likely decline 23% from the year-ago period.

‘Strategic partnerships, international expansion, and investments in research and development capacity remain priorities to support long-term growth,’ BI analysts wrote.

JPMorgan, meanwhile, is concerned that the market consensus for Beyond Meat’s Ebitda is ‘too high’.

However, as investors are already generally bearish on the BYND stock, ‘we’re not sure how surprising a bottom-line miss will be’, JPMorgan analysts wrote.

‘We do not think McDonald’s can save the day for at least a few more quarters, if it does at all’, they added.

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