Benzinga | May 24, 2021 11:54AM EDT

Beyond Meat Is An Attractive Reopening Play, Bernstein Says

As comparables get far easier, Beyond Meat Inc's (NASDAQ:BYND) guidance of a recovery in organic growth for the second quarter bodes well for the back half of the year, according to Bernstein.

The Beyond Meat Analyst: Alexia Howard upgraded the rating for Beyond Meat from Underperform to Outperform, while raising the price target from $101 to $130.

The Beyond Meat Thesis: Foodservice channels are poised to witness a rebound with an improvement in consumer mobility post-pandemic, which should ease competition in the U.S. retail channel, Howard said in the upgrade note.

"Meanwhile the opening of the Netherlands plant will improve Beyond's cost position in Europe and enable the brand to reduce pricing in the region," she noted.

The analyst also expects the global relationship with McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD) to propel Beyond Meat's sales "meaningfully over the course of 2022 and beyond."

"We are also hopeful that the new 3.0 version of the flagship patties could bring more consumers to the brand," Howard wrote. "Overall, we believe that Beyond Meat should be recognized as a reopening play that stands to regain meaningful momentum over the coming quarters," she added.

BYND Price Action: Shares of Beyond Meat had risen by 9.95% to $117.20 at the time of publication Monday.

(Photo: McDonald's McPlant courtesy of Beyond Meat)