Taco Bell soured on Beyond Meat's carne asada alternative
The shares of Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND) are extending yesterday's losses, last seen down 2.7% to trade at $68.15, after a Bloomberg report revealed that Yum! Brands' (YUM) Taco Bell is dropping plans to test Beyond Meat's vegetarian version of carne asada. According to the report, Taco Bell was dissatisfied with samples it received back in October, though the two companies will continue to work together as Beyond Meat develops more testable products.
BYND has struggled on the charts for much of the year, and now sports a 45.1% year-to-date deficit. The equity could still snap its four-week losing streak today, though it's fallen below every major short- and long-term moving average on the charts.
Puts are extremely popular at the moment, per BYND's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.21 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 94% of readings from the past year, showing puts being picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate.
Analysts are overwhelmingly bearish, too. Of the 14 in coverage, 13 carry a "hold" or worse rating on BYND. Short interest has been on the rise, and is up 31.1% during the two most recent reporting periods. Currently, short interest makes up 36% of Beyond Meat stock's available float.