Beyond Meat jumps on report that Impossible Burger shortages have hit restaurants
- Beyond Meat shares jumped Friday after a report of an Impossible Burger shortage.
- Impossible Foods, which makes the Impossible Burger, is a major competitor in the plant-based meat space.
- Beyond Meat addressed the demand problem during its first earnings release as a public company.
- Watch Beyond Meat trade live.
Shares of Beyond Meat rose more than 11% in early trading Friday after Bloomberg reported that restaurant chains White Castle and Red Robin were experiencing shortages of the Impossible Burger.
Impossible Foods is a major competitor to Beyond Meat. The privately held company has a partnership with Burger King and is working on releasing the Impossible Whopper to restaurants nationwide following a successful limited offering.
The market for plant-based meat alternatives is booming, and Barclays analysts say it could reach $140 billion in the next decade. But soaring demand has also put pressure on producers to deliver. Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown addressed the demand problem on the company's first earnings call, saying it had learned from past shortages.
Partnerships with fast-food chains and other restaurants are going to be important going forward. JPMorgan analysts have said that Beyond Meat's stock price could see a 30% boost if it were to secure a partnership with McDonald's. Beyond Meat also has a partnership with Tim Hortons, which announced Wednesday that its Beyond breakfast sandwiches are now available on menus across Canada. The launch sent Beyond stock up as much as 16%.
Beyond Meat stock has been extremely volatile since it went public in the best-performing US IPO this year. Shares have soared over 600% on positive news like its first earnings release as a public company, but have also fallen on reports that Wall Street analysts have backed off bullish views on the company and increased competition from large players such as Tyson Foods and Nestle rolling out their own versions of plant-based meats.
Beyond Meat shares are up more than 500% this year.
