What happened

Shares of plant-based meat company Beyond Meat (BYND -1.46%) got crushed on Monday. The company already reported financial results for the first quarter of 2021 last week. But today, analysts were giving their thoughts on the stock -- and it wasn't bullish commentary. As a result, Beyond Meat stock was down 6% as of 11 a.m. EDT.

So what

According to The Fly, two prominent analysts downgraded their outlooks on the stock today. One is from Canaccord and the other from D.A. Davidson. The latter lowered their price target for Beyond Meat stock from $145 per share to $95, a sharp 34% cut. The analyst from Canaccord lowered Beyond Meat's price target from $155 to $125, a 19% decrease. 

A businessman closes his eyes as a stock chart crashes in front of him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

Take analyst price targets with a grain of salt. Consider that the analyst with D.A. Davidson slapped the $145 price target on Beyond Meat stock just two months ago. And the Canaccord analyst had a $170 price target back in January. In the end, analysts are people just like us and lack a crystal ball. When we are talking about short timetables, it's difficult (if not impossible) to predict which way a stock will trade.

That's why it's best for buy-and-hold investors to focus on business results. And right now, there's a fair bit of uncertainty with Beyond Meat. The company expects second-quarter revenue of $135 million to $150 million, which would be up between 19% and 32% year over year. That's a pretty wide range, reflecting a lack of visibility for how fast the company's still-lagging food service sales will recover.