Beyond Meat dips in premarket after Mizuho downgrades stock to underperform and reiterates buys on Oatly and SunOpta

Beyond Meat Inc.'s (BYND) stock was lower by 0.5% in premarket trading on Thursday after Mizuho Securities USA downgraded the plant-based food maker to underperform from neutral and cut its target price to $5 from $12. Analyst John Baumgartner said category growth has been disappointing, but he sees potential improvement in plant-based beverages as inflation moderates. Plant-based meat, on the other hand, "remains impacted by macros, insufficient innovation and larger reinvestment," Baumgartner said. Mizuho Securities USA reiterated buy ratings on SunOpta Inc. (STKL) and Oatly Group AG (OTLY). Oatly's target price was reduced to $4 from $7. SunOpta stands out as the most attractive after the stock was initiated on Oct. 2, Baumgartner said. SunOpta stock is down 65% so far in 2023, while Oatly stock has fallen by about 61%

-Steve Gelsi

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-12-23 0748ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.