Beyond Meat announces new McDonald’s and Yum! Brands contracts, sinks on wider losses

• Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) saw its share price close 5.5% lower after it reported wider-than-predicted Q4 2020 losses
• The plant-based food producer also announced two new strategic partnerships with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands on the same day
• Analysts see a 19.5% downside on the stock in the next 12 months
• Trade BYND shares, long or short, with an IG account

Beyond Meat posts Q4 net loss of US$25.1 million

Beyond Meat shares closed 5.5% lower on Thursday (25 February 2021), after the company reported wider-than-expected losses in its latest financial results.

Net loss was US$25.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to net loss of US$0.5 million in the prior year period.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, net loss included US$3.7 million in expenses attributable to Covid-19, specifically related to inventory write-offs and reserves of certain foodservice products.

Excluding these items, adjusted net loss was US$21.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, or US$0.34 per common share, compared to adjusted net loss of US$0.5 million, or US$0.01 per common share, in the prior year period.

The adjusted net loss was also larger than analysts’ predictions of US$0.14 per common share.

Net revenues, however, increased 3.5% to US$101.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to US$98.5 million in the prior year period. This was primarily due to increased retail channel sales.

New agreements with McDonald’s and Yum! Brand

The company also announced two new strategic partnerships on Thursday with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands.

Beyond Meat and McDonald’s have signed a three-year global strategic agreement. As part of the agreement, Beyond Meat will be McDonald’s preferred supplier for the patty in the McPlant, a new plant-based burger being tested in select McDonald’s markets globally.

In addition, both companies will explore co-developing other plant-based menu items – like plant-based options for chicken, pork and egg – as part of McDonald’s broader McPlant platform.

The partnership with Yum! Brands will see both companies co-create and offer craveable and innovative plant-based protein menu items at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell over the next several years.

Where next for the Beyond Meat stock?

The stock has received a consensus rating of ‘hold’ and an average price target of US$115.68 from 20 analysts, according to the latest MarketBeat data.

The price target represents a downside of 19.5% from the last traded price.

Beyond Meat’s shares were up as much as 53% earlier this year, after the stock hit a year-to-date peak price of US$192 on 27 January.

The rally came after PepsiCo and Beyond Meat announced plans to form The PLANeT Partnership, LLC (TPP), a joint venture to develop, produce and market innovative snack and beverage products made from plant-based protein.

Based on the stock’s slightly lower closing price of US$143.75 on Thursday (25 February), shares are still up some 14.5%.

In the last one year, the alternative food manufacturer’s share price has skyrocketed over 77%, as the Covid-19 pandemic boosted the company’s retail sales in the first and second quarters of 2020.

However, share prices started to slide from October 2020 as Q3 revenues started to cool down with a drop in food services sales amid a worsening pandemic.

How to trade Beyond Meat stocks with IG

Are you feeling bullish or bearish on Beyond Meat’s stocks?

Either way you can buy (long) or sell (short) the asset using derivatives like CFDs offered on IG's industry-leading trading platform, or by investing in the share directly, in a few easy steps:

1. Create a live or demo IG Trading Account, or log in to your existing account
2. Enter <Beyond Meat Inc> in the search bar and select the instrument
3. Choose your position size
4. Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
5. Confirm the trade