The security just pulled back to the historically bullish 320-day moving average
The shares of plant-based food producer Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND) have been cooling off recently after hitting a Jan. 26, roughly two-year high of $221. The good news is that this recent dip has put the security near a historically bullish trendline, which could send BYND back up the charts in the coming weeks.
Specifically, Beyond Meat stock just came within one standard deviation of its 320-day moving average, after spending some time above this trendline. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, three similar signals have occurred in the past three years. The security enjoyed a positive return one month later, averaging a whopping 21.8% gain for that time period. From its current perch, a move of similar magnitude would put BYND over the $160 mark, which is closer to that January peak.
Analysts are still pessimistic towards the equity, leaving the door wide open for potential price-target hikes and/or upgrades in the near future. Of the 16 in question, 14 carry a "hold" or worse rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $128.80 is a 2% discount to current levels.
Short sellers have been piling on the security, too, leaving it ripe for a short squeeze. Short interest added 33.9% over the last two reporting periods, and the 10.95 million shares sold short account for a whopping 19.7% of the stock's available float.
A shift in the options pits could create even more tailwinds. This is per Beyond Meat stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.46, which stands in the 96th percentile of its annual range. In other words, short-term traders have rarely been more put-biased.
Now could be a good time to weigh in on BYND's next move with options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 44% sits at the lowest percentile of all other readings from the past year. This suggests options players are pricing in lower-than-usual volatility expectations at the moment.
Lastly, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a high 95 out of 100, indicating the equity has exceeded volatility expectations during the past 12 months -- a boon for options buyers.