Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Beyond Meat shares slashed gains Wednesday, briefly dipping into negative territory as the meme stock rally faltered.
The food company known for its plant-based burgers and sausages rose just 15% in midday trading on Wednesday, after surging 111% at one point in the premarket. The stock reached a high of $7.69 during the session, after closing Tuesday at $3.62. It was last above $4.
It’s the latest in an extraordinary week for the stock. On Monday, the stock rallied more than 127% after Roundhill Investments, which develops thematic ETFs, added the name to its Roundhill Meme Stock ETF (MEME).
That decision appeared to have the added effect of driving a short squeeze in the stock, as investors rushed to cover their positions. According to FactSet data, more than 63% of the shares available for trading were sold short.
On Tuesday, Beyond Meat soared 146% in its best day ever, after saying it will expand distribution at Walmart’s stores.
Beyond Meat, year-to-date performance
Shares of Beyond Meat have been under pressure for a long time. After making its public debut in 2019, when the stock soared past $230 per share, it has since become a penny stock. The stock has slid in each of the last five years, falling more than 47% in 2021, 81% in 2022, 27% in 2023, and 57% in 2024. It’s down more than 3% in 2025.
The latest bad news for the stock came last week, when shares tumbled more than 67% to end the week at just 65 cents after Beyond Meat said it has finalized a debt deal.
This week’s comeback, however, is reminiscent of the height of the pandemic, when retail traders took to on online message boards such as WallStreetBets to coordinate moves behind high-risk, aggressive trades.
In 2021, Bank of America said Beyond Meat was a Reddit stock to watch, though it ended that same year with losses.
The return of Beyond Meat could be the latest signal of a frothy market, one that is relentlessly climbing higher in spite of concerns around elevated valuations and a possible AI bubble. Indeed, Roundhill shut its meme ETF down at one point because of lack of interest. It revived it earlier this month as retail traders dove back into the bull market.
In response to someone on Reddit’s online forum WallStreetBets saying they bought 10,000 shares of Beyond Meat for $7.50, one commenter wrote Wednesday, “Youre already down 7k, impressive.”
Another posted: “You know the economy is cooked when BYND stock is making a comeback.”
