What happened
Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND -0.17%) are falling 2.7% at 11:03 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
It comes after a week where the stock of the meat alternative maker rose some 20% in value, though it was also involved in a minor kerfuffle involving its newest "chief taste consultant," Kim Kardashian.
In the new ad that debuted on Beyond Meat's Instagram account, which has 1 million followers (Kardashian has some 314 million followers), she extolled the virtue of the meat substitute's "mission" and how good the products tasted, but was never shown actually eating any of the products.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Beyond Meat has struggled to gain traction despite having signed supply agreements with numerous retail and restaurant establishments over the past few years. Losses continue to mount, and sales are now starting to slide.
In its first-quarter earnings report two weeks ago, Beyond Meat said sales fell 1.2%, net losses amounted to over $100 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation, and amortization was a loss of $79 million. Last year, sales had jumped 11% and its net loss was just $27 million, while on an adjusted basis it was a $26 million loss.
Now what
The market doesn't expect much from Beyond Meat, and its shares are heavily shorted with over 40% of its float sold short.
Last week's rally may have had investors hoping it was the beginning of a short squeeze, but that seems to have fizzled out and Beyond Meat's hope to reach more consumers through social media influencers may still be beyond reach.
