Beyond Meat has become 'Beyond Stupid,' Citron Research says

Leanna Garfield/Business Insider

• Beyond Meat's stock price has become "Beyond Stupid," according to Citron Research.
• Shares priced at $25 on May 1, and hit a high of $96.78 on Thursday.
• Watch Beyond Meat trade live.

Beyond Meat's runaway stock price has become "Beyond Stupid," according to Citron Research.

The company's stock soared by 163% in its trading debut, drawing comparisons to tech names that went public during dot-com bubble. They had gained as much as 285% from their May 1 initial-public-offering pricing of $25, hitting a record high of $96.78 apiece on Thursday. On Friday , they fell 6% and could be seeing heightened volatility due to options expiration.

"$BYND has become Beyond Stupid," Andrew Left's Citron Research tweeted on Friday. "Most heavily traded retail stock on Robinhood, market cap now bigger than industry, and superior competitor coming to market soon. We expect $BYND to go back to $65 on earnings On retail exhaustion."

As of Thursday, Beyond Meat had been added by more than 30,000 Robinhood users since its initial public offering on May 2, according to Robinhood data compiled by Markets Insider. It's market cap had ballooned to above $5.5 billion after closing its first day on the public markets at $3.83 billion.

Beyond Meat is one of the many unprofitable startups that has gone public in recent weeks. It has generated losses in each year since its 2009 founding. The plant-based burger maker lost $29.9 million in 2018, $30.4 million in 2017, and $25.1 million in 2016, as it "invested in innovation and growth." Its sales have surged over the same time, growing from $16.2 million in 2016 to $87.9 million last year.

Rebecca Ungarino contributed to this story.

Markets Insider