Beyond Meat launched an online store on e-commerce platform JD.com
Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND) is up 2.7% at $131.35 this morning, after the company launched an online store on China-based e-commerce platform JD.com (JD). The launch will provide products to customers in four major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, though Beyond Meat said it plans on eventually expanding its availability to 300 cities across China, as the region begins purchasing more fresh food online.
It's been a shaky year for BYND, which has been trying to distance itself from its mid-May annual lows. The stock enjoyed a bull gap above the 60-day moving average later that month, though yesterday's session put it squarely below this trendline for the first time since that rally. The equity is clinging to a 3.4% year-to-date lead, though it is off 30.2% in the last nine months.
Analysts are lukewarm on the stock. The 12-month consensus price target of $125.77 is a 2.6% discount to current levels, and just four of the 14 in coverage consider BYND a "strong buy," while the remaining 10 called it a tepid "hold" or worse.
Short sellers, however, have been hitting the exits in droves. Short interest fell 19.3% over the last two reporting periods, but still makes up 18.1% of the stock's available float, leaving BYND ripe for a short squeeze, should some of that pessimism continue to unwind.
The security's usually quiet options pits are brimming with activity today. So far, 20,000 calls and 8,892 puts have crossed the tape, which is twice what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the expiring July 135 call, followed by the 125 put in the same series, with new positions being opened at both.
The equity is primed for a short-term bounce, too, based on its Relative Strength Index (RSI), which stands at a low 34. This puts BYND just on the cusp of "oversold" territory.