Jim Cramer’s Views On Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND)

Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) stock value has increased about 70 percent so far this year, as the producer of plant-based meat capitalized on the opportunities offered to it during the pandemic.

Earlier this year, financial analyst Jim Cramer made several predictions about the company in an interview, calling BYND “one of the most dangerous shorts” in the market. He said that the company’s aggressive pricing would help it to win more customers in a market, where traditional beef prices are soaring due to the pandemic-related supply disruptions.

Cramer added that Beyond Meat has the potential to become a huge success like Amazon and Facebook, which were once small-cap companies like BYND. He also said that the pandemic could change the eating behavior of people during the pandemic and they may permanently switch to plant-based meat from traditional beef, pork, and chicken products.

Most of the meat-processing facilities across the U.S. remained closed during the peak of Covid-19 that led to a shortage of traditional meat products. The company’s CEO Ethan Brown took advantage of the opportunity by introducing value packs and discounts, in an effort to boost their customer base.

Cramer’s optimistic comments came just a day after the company surprised investors and analysts by reporting a profit for the first quarter. BYND posted earnings of 3 cents per share for Q1, contrary to a loss of 7 cents projected by analysts. Its profit was mainly driven by disruptions in the traditional-meat supply chain. However, the company’s share price experienced a setback after it reported a loss for the two consecutive quarters (Q2 and Q3).

Nevertheless, BYND’s share price climbed to about $194 at the start of October after it rolled out Beyond Breakfast Sausage Links in different grocery stores across the U.S.

If we talk about recommendations, most analysts have a “Hold” rating for BYND stock, with an average price target of $116 per share.