Beyond Meat (BYND) : 4-year performance

 

IPOs this week : Oct 28 - Nov 1, 19 (wk 44)

IPO quiet period expirations
Analyst quiet periods expire on Villa Bio (NASDAQ:VIE), Aprea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APRE), Frequency Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FREQ) and Metrocity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) on October 28.

IPO lockup expirations
IPO lockups arrive on the calendar for Wah Fu Education Group (NASDAQ:WAFU) on October 28; Beyond Meat (BYND), So-Young International (NASDAQ:SY) and TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:TMDX) on October 28;
Sciplay (NASDAQ:SCPL), Yunji (NASDAQ:YJ) and Red River Bancshares (NASDAQ:RRBI) on October 30.

Beyond Meat:
The company has a big week ahead with earnings due out on October 28 and the IPO share lockup expiring on October 29. While shares of Beyond Meat have fallen quickly from the +$200 neighborhood, analysts are warning that some insiders may still want to cash out with the stock still trading 4X the IPO pricing level. The recent selling pressure on Beyond Meat is also likely related to some alternative protein developments, including word that Impossible Foods (IMPSBL) is considering expanding into Europe and a pizza collaboration between Kellogg (NYSE:K) and Pizza Hut (YUM).

BYND : 3-month performance

The IPO darling now down 42% from record highs set just three weeks ago.

BYND : 2-month performance

IPOs this week : May 27 - 31, 19

A relatively slow week is ahead for the IPO market with no deals expected to price, although Beyond Meat's (NASDAQ:BYND) analyst quiet period expiration on May 28 is going to put underwriters Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BAML, Jefferies and William Blair on the hook. Shares of Beyond Meat have more than tripled from their IPO pricing level to place BYND's valuation in the stratosphere.

Keep an eye on Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) and Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) as the Beyond Meat reports pile in. Both food companies plan are expected to make meat alternative announcements sometime this year, which could reset growth/valuation expectations.

TransMedics (NASDAQ:TMDX), Sciplay (NASDAQ:SCPL) So-Young (NASDAQ:SY) and Yunji (NASDAQ:YJ) also have analyst quiet period expirations on May 28.

Beyond Meat's IPO leads to a rare 2000-style stock surge

Beyond Meat Inc.’s first day of trading after its initial public offering brought the kind of stock surge that has been relatively rare since 2000, the year that an Internet-driven bull market ended. The producer of vegan beef and sausage substitutes soared 163 percent in its debut. Beyond Meat is only the eighth U.S. company in the past 18 years to climb at least 125 percent after completing an initial public offering of $100 million or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rest are shown in the chart. There were 29 in 2000 alone.

 

Beyond Meat (BYND) began trading on the Nasdaq on Thur 2 May 2019

• Beyond Meat has a market value of $3.83 billion at the close of trading.

The shares of Beyond Meat, the purveyor of plant-based burgers and sausages, more than doubled Thursday in its Nasdaq debut. It's the first pure-play maker of vegan "meat" to go public, according to Renaissance Capital, which researches and tracks IPOs.

Beyond Meat raised about $240 million selling 9.6 million shares at $25 each. Those shares rose 163% to close at $65.75.

The 10-year-old company has attracted celebrity investors like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and actor Leonardo DiCaprio and buzz for placing its products in burger joints like Carl's Jr. It sells to 30,000 grocery stores, restaurants and schools in the U.S., Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and Israel.

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said the IPO timing is right because the company wants to expand overseas. He also wants consumers to be able to buy shares since they have fueled the company's growth.

"It really is a wonderful feeling to be able to welcome people in who have helped this brand," Brown told The Associated Press.

Still, Beyond Meat has never made an annual profit, losing $30 million last year. It's also facing serious competition from other "new meat" companies like Impossible Foods and traditional players like Tyson Foods Inc. Tyson recently sold a stake in Beyond Meat because it plans to develop its own alternative meat.

The IPO comes amid growing consumer interest in plant-based foods for their presumed health and environmental benefits. U.S. sales of plant-based meats jumped 42% between March 2016 and March 2019 to a total of $888 million, according to Nielsen. Traditional meat sales rose 1% to $85 billion in that same time frame.

The trend is a global one. U.K. sales of meat alternatives jumped 18% over the last year, while sales of traditional meat and poultry slid 2%.

Demand is expected to continue to grow. Euromonitor, a consulting firm, predicts worldwide sales of meat substitutes will grow 22% by 2023 to a total of $22.9 billion.

Even Burger King has recognized the appeal. Earlier this week, the fast food chain announced that it would start testing the Impossible Whopper, made with a plant-based burger from Impossible Foods, in additional markets after its monthlong test in St. Louis proved successful. Meanwhile, Ikea says it's working on developing a plant-based Swedish meatball, which it says it plans to test with customers early next year.

Brown says Beyond Meat's ingredient list — it only uses natural ingredients that haven't been genetically modified and doesn't use soy — sets it apart from competitors. Its products are made from pea protein, canola oil, potato starch and other plant-based ingredients. Its burgers "bleed" with beet juice; its sausages are colored with fruit juice.

Unlike competitors, Beyond Meat products have also been sold in the meat section of groceries since 2016. That has broadened their appeal beyond vegetarians. Beyond Meat says a 26-week study last spring showed that 93% of Kroger customers who bought its burgers also bought animal meat during the same period.

In a 2016 taste test, Consumer Reports said the texture of the Beyond Burger was similar to ground beef, but it didn't match up in flavor. The magazine's conclusion: It might not be the best burger you've ever tried, but it's pretty tasty on a bun with lots of toppings.

As for health benefits, the results are mixed. A four-ounce 92% lean burger from Laura's Lean Beef has higher fat and cholesterol than a Beyond Meat burger, but Beyond Meat's burger has higher sodium and carbohydrates and slightly less protein. The lean beef burger is 160 calories; a Beyond Meat burger is 270 calories.

Brown says Beyond Meat is working on reducing sodium, which is a natural byproduct of its manufacturing process. But he also points out that red meat and processed meat have been classified as possible carcinogens by the World Health Organization.

Beyond Meat also costs more. For $5.99, consumers can get two 4-ounce patties of Beyond Burger or four 4-ounce patties of Laura's Lean Beef.

Brown said Beyond Meat has a five-year goal of getting at least one product — most likely beef — to cost less than the animal version. He expects the supply chain will grow as sales expand, which will lower the cost of raw ingredients like peas.

But Beyond Meat touts environmental benefits as well. The company says a plant-based burger takes 99% less water and 93% less land to produce than a beef burger, and generates 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 by Brown, a former clean energy executive. Brown's family part-owned a Maryland dairy farm, so as a child, Brown spent weekends and summers on the farm. As he grew older, he began to question whether people really needed animals to produce meat.

Brown teamed up with two professors from the University of Missouri, Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff, who had been developing soy-based chicken since the 1980s. By 2013, Beyond Meat was selling plant-based chicken strips nationwide at Whole Foods. (The company discontinued chicken earlier this year but says it's working on a better recipe.)

For investors, the stock is not without risk. Amid its annual losses, Beyond Meat must also continue to spend heavily on research and development. The El Segundo, California-based company employs 63 scientists, engineers, researchers, technicians and chefs at its 30,000-square-foot lab. It also has manufacturing facilities in Columbia, Missouri.

Renaissance Capital, which has researched the company, says investors will likely tolerate the losses because the business is growing so quickly. Beyond Meat's net revenue was $87.9 million last year, 170% higher than 2017.

In documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Beyond Meat says it will invest $40 million to $50 million in current and new manufacturing facilities and spend $50 million to $60 million on product development and sales. The rest will be used to pay down debt and fund operations.

Tyson Foods exits Beyond Meat investment

The food giant had a 6.5 percent stake in the maker of plant-based protein products, which is preparing for an IPO next week.

(Bloomberg)—Tyson Foods Inc. has sold its 6.5 percent stake in Beyond Meat as the maker of plant-based protein products prepares for a public offering next week.

“Tyson Ventures is pleased with the investment in Beyond Meat and has decided the time is right to exit its investment,” the company said in an email, adding it plans to launch its own alternative protein product soon and expects to conduct market testing this summer.

Tyson’s investment arm originally purchased a 5 percent stake in the startup in October 2016, before increasing that to 6.5 percent. Beyond Meat, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, seeks to raise as much as $184 million in an IPO. The company’s plan to sell 8.75 million shares at $19 to $21 each would give it a market value at about $1.2 billion, according to filings.

Consumers are looking for more plant-based meat alternatives because of concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Startups like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are tapping into that demand by offering beef-like versions of the veggie burger and other meat products.

Supermarket sales of meat alternatives surged 19.2 percent to $878 million for the year ended Jan. 5, 2019, according to data from Nielsen.

Beyond Meat is sold in grocery stores nationwide and is also increasingly being featured on restaurant menus. On Thursday, Del Taco Restaurants Inc. will start selling Beyond Meat tacos at its 580 U.S. stores after they passed the taste test with customers.

As Tyson ramps up its in-house veggie burger business, it still has a foot in meat alternative startups, with stakes in cultured meat makers like Jerusalem-based Future Meat Technologies and Memphis Meats, which boasts Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Cargill Inc. as investors.

Regular meat isn’t going away though, with U.S. government data showing per capita beef consumption is growing despite the rising popularity of alternative meat products. Global demand is also rising.

Uber files S-1, applies to list common stock on NYSE under ticker "UBER"

UBER vs LYFT vs  BYND vs  PINS vs SNAP

Ride-sharing company Uber has filed its S-1, will list its shares on the NYSE under the ticker "UBER". The lead underwriters on the deal are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, and Allen & Co.

• At this time, there is no expected price range for the IPO, and no set date either. Both of those data points will come in an amended S-1 in the coming week(s). However, UBER appears on track to launch its IPO within the next 2-3 weeks.

• Taking a look at a few of the financial highlights from its filing, gross bookings were up 45% in FY18 to $49.8 million, while revenue climbed 43% to $11.27 billion. The company is far from profitability, though, as it posted a ($3.0) billion operating loss for the year. Adj. EBITDA was also in the red at ($1.8) billion. 
  • A silver lining is that both of these metrics did improve from FY17, when it suffered an operating loss of ($4.1) billion and Adj EBITDA of ($2.6) billion.
  • As for its other key operating metrics, monthly active platform consumers were up to 91 million from 68 million, and total trips jumped to 5.22 billion from 3.7 billion.

Beyond Meat files for IPO

Beyond Meat is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes. Beyond Meat's products became available nationwide at Whole Foods Market in 2013.

• Founder & CEO: Ethan Brown
• Founded: 2009, Los Angeles, CA
• Headquarters: El Segundo, CA
• Parent organization: Savage River Inc.
• beyondmeat.com

Beyond Meat Inc. filed documents late Friday signalling plans to list its initial public offering on the Nasdaq under the symbol BYND. The El Segundo, Calif.-based food company reported third-quarter net losses of $9.3 million on sales of $26.3 million; its losses widened from $7.2 million on sales of $9.4 million in the year-earlier period. In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said it plans to raise $100 million, but that number is often a placeholder which it will update as it gets closer to listing the stock. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse are among the banks listed as underwriters for the offering.