$BYND - Beyond Meat to launch its new Beyond Beef product later this week, stock promptly rises

Beyond Meat stock continues its tear higher and is now trading at more than six times its IPO price

Beyond Meat Inc., the maker of plant-based meat products, said Wednesday it’s launching its new ground Beyond Beef product later this week, sending its stock higher.

The Beyond Beef product is designed to taste and look like traditional ground beef — it even has marbling — for tacos, Bolognese sauce and more. It’s made from a combination of pea, mung bean and rice proteins. A four ounce service contains 20g of protein, according to Beyond Meat BYND, +4.01% Founder and Chief Executive Ethan Brown.

The new product will be available at select stores later this week and will then be rolled out to others in the coming weeks, including Amazon.com Inc.’sAMZN, +0.68%  Whole Foods, supermarket chain Alberstons, Kroger KR, -1.81% and Safeway, among others.

Beyond Meat already offers a Beyond Burger, that’s already formed into a patty, plus Beyond Sausage and Beyond Beef Crumbles. Its products are available at restaurant chains, including TGI Fridays, Del Taco, Bareburger, Carl’s Jr. and A&W.

The stock has been on a tear, ever since the company went public in early May. The stock is trading at $155.20, more than six times its IPO price of $25, giving it a market capitalization of more than $9 billion.

In its first earnings report published in early June, the company posted $40.2 million in net revenue, compared with forecasts in its IPO prospectus for $38 million to $40 million. Analysts were modeling $38.9 million. A year earlier, Beyond Meat generated $12.8 million in revenue.

The company was still in the red, posting a net loss of $6.6 million for the quarter, compared with $5.7 million a year ago. On a per-share basis, Beyond Meat lost 95 cents, compared with 98 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company posted pro-forma per-share losses of 14 cents, compared with 13 cents a year earlier, which is a non-GAAP measure.

Beyond Meat said it expects revenue to top $210 million for the full year, ahead of the $205 million analysts were then forecasting.

Analysts have become more cautious about the stock following its extraordinary run and as a range of new competitors emerge. The average rating of analysts polled by FactSet is a hold with an average stock price target of $106, that is well below its current level.

Beyond Meat is competing with privately held Impossible Meat and its Impossible Burger, as well as new alternative proteins from Tyson Foods Inc., and smaller companies including Before the Butcher; Rebellyous Foods, makers of plant-based chicken nuggets; and Good Catch, makers of plant-based tuna.

Beyond Meat shares were last up 3.4%, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.02%  and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.15%  were both up 0.1%.

Authored By CIARA LINNANE