Barclays upgraded BYND to "overweight" from "underweight"
The shares of Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND) are up 4.7% at $59.19 this morning, following a double upgrade from Barclays to "overweight" from "underweight." The analyst also upped its price target to $80 from $70, saying the U.S. foodservice channel and international segments could help incite growth, as the company takes on more business opportunities. Barclays did note that recovery for the stock, which has fallen more than 68% year-over-year, will be "gradual."
The upgrade could spark more bull notes, as the brokerage bunch has been cautious of late. Coming into today, just one analyst considered BYND a "strong buy," compared to nine "hold" ratings, and two "sell" or worse ratings.
Beyond Meat stock has been heavily shorted, with short interest still inching higher -- up 3.2% in the last reporting period. The 20.70 million shares sold short make up a hefty 36.9% of the stock's available float, and would take over a week to cover, at BYND's average daily pace of trading.
Short-term options players have also been bearish, as they pick up puts at a quicker-than-usual clip. This is per BYND's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.34, which stands higher than 63% of readings from the past year.
Today's pop is much-needed for the stock, which hit a two-year low during Friday's trading. The security is still facing pressure from all short- and long-term trendlines, including the 50-day, which has kept a stiff lid on shares since July. On the bright side, however, BYND is set to snap a four-day losing streak, should this morning's gains hold.