Beyond Meat shares surge over 1,000pc in ‘meme stock’ frenzy

The surge in Beyond Meat’s share price has been partly driven by a Dubai-based trader called Dimitri Semenikhin - Mike Blake/Reuters

Shares in fake meat business Beyond Meat have soared almost 1,300pc in under a week as so-called “meme stock” investors plough into the unloved US business.

Speculators on social media have been scooping up shares in the plant-based meat maker, making it the most traded stock on Wall Street.

Despite having a market capitalisation of just $2.5bn (£1.9bn), more shares in Beyond Meat had changed hands than in Tesla, worth $1.4tn, or Nvidia, $4.4tn, in pre-market trading on Wednesday morning. Its stock had climbed almost 100pc on the day at the time of writing.

Beyond Meat has attracted a flurry of interest from traders on “wallstreetbets”, a Reddit forum. Traders have bragged of “yoloing” thousands of dollars on the stock or betting their “life savings” on the shares.

Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat’s meat-free burgers are sold in restaurants, including McDonald’s. The business previously secured the backing of high-profile investors, including Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio.Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat’s meat-free burgers are sold in restaurants, including McDonald’s - Matt Rourke/The Associated Press

Its 2019 stock market listing was one of the best-performing initial public offerings since the dot-com bubble, amid broader hype about the potential of fake meat. At one point, its market value exploded to $14bn.

However, its stock has since plunged. It hit a record low earlier in October amid concerns over waning demand for vegan meat alternatives and as Maga-supporting meat influencers push high-protein diets. In its most recent quarterly results, sales fell by almost 20pc to $75m and it suffered an operating loss of $35m.

Investor-driven surge

The recent surge in Beyond Meat’s share price has been in part driven by one amateur investor, a Dubai-based trader named Dimitri Semenikhin, who goes by the social media screen name Capybara Stocks.

He has posted a series of YouTube videos claiming Beyond Meat’s performance has not been fairly reflected in its share price.

The share surge comes despite Beyond Meat executing a messy $800m debt swap last week, diluting shareholders. It has been helped by a recent deal with Walmart.

The “wallstreetbets” forum rose to prominence during the pandemic as people turned to the forum to alleviate boredom during lockdowns. One amateur trader, Keith Gill, known online as Roaring Kitty, made tens of millions of dollars investing in struggling US video games retailer GameStop in 2021 after promoting it on the site.

The investor turned a holding of around $50,000 into more than $100m after shares surged by more than 1,500pc in the space of a fortnight as amateur investors piled in.

Shares in Beyond Meat were added to a fund that tracks so-called meme investments, called a meme ETF.

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