Can BYND go further on recent KFC news?
Purveyor of meatless foods Beyond Meat surged nearly 3% in pre-market trading this morning, building on a multi-day rally as the stock crested near $160 per share, representing an attempt to return to an all-time high of $234.90 on July 26.
Last Friday, BYND was trading around $147, but a spike Monday brought the stock up to around $153.
Some of the biggest news promoting Beyond Meat shares is a new announcement from yesterday. KFC, a U.S. favorite that’s been a household name for decades, will partner with BYND to try out a plant-based alternative at one of its restaurants as a pilot.
Where It Is
According to reports at Market Insider and other sources, KFC will be selling the meatless chicken at one store in Atlanta, GA, starting today. Based on the product’s success, the company may expand its availability elsewhere.
There doesn’t seem to be any corresponding information on the company’s own press site. But company leaders like Kevin Hochman, KFC president and chief concept officer, are on record with NPR and other news sources talking about the move to introduce new meatless items that “taste like chicken.”
Meanwhile, Engadget reports that instead of being an actual menu item at the Cobb Parkway KFC in Atlanta, the BYND-based product will be available either as boneless wings or as nuggets, in a complementary serving when customers make a purchase.
BYND’s market response has been significant: Market Realist talks about BYND being on “an absolute tear,” and investors are watching the candlesticks as BYND outpaces recent price activity.
BYND Fundamentals
Comments from analysts and business writers show the company may try to promote the new meatless chicken option in light of health and dietary information that suggests eating large amounts of meat can carry certain health risks.
Another part of what’s behind BYND’s rally is a lack of competitors in the space. And beyond that, there’s a common investor sentiment that global markets could accommodate two or even many more meatless companies. Meatless protein options may soon be a product widely demanded in the market zeitgeist.
But although the stock is now the golden child of an investor class looking for breakout activity, it wasn’t always in the limelight throughout the summer … BYND’s price action reverses a trend where the stock lost 40% percent of its value last week.
However, BYND now stands at nearly triple the value of its IPO price in May. It didn’t take BYND long to break the psychological price point of $150, which it did in June. And now some hope that the KFC news and other attention to the new meatless products can take the equity even higher.
As of the start of the trading day, BYND has dropped a couple of points from $159 to around $157, before dropping back down at the bottom of the hour. Now in morning trades, BYND is in a range between the two price positions: a breakout either way will reveal more about the staying power of the stock’s latest price increase.
