What do you get when you combine plant-based substitute meat products with the world’s second largest soft drink company? A stratospheric stock price.
Shares of Beyond Meat stock exploded Tuesday, jumping as much as 31% on news that they have formed a joint venture with PesiCo to create, produce and market snacks and drinks with plant-based substitutes.
Interestingly, the spike bump didn’t translate to Pepsi stock, as their price rose just 1% on Tuesday, but there appears to be a logical explanation for that. The Beyond Meat spike potentially was helped by hedge funds trying to cover their bets against the stock. According to FactSet, over 38% of the Beyond Meat shares that were available are sold short.
This deal potentially helps Beyond Meat because it gives them access to Pepsi’s producing and marketing talents in promoting new products. Beyond Meat is one of the big players in the meat alternative category, as their sales counts for about 13% of total sales.
The two companies are starting a new LLC for this partnership, called PLANeT Partnership. “Plant-based proteins represent an exciting growth opportunity for us, a new frontier in our efforts to build a more sustainable food system and be a positive force for people and the planet, while meeting consumer demand for an expanded portfolio of more nutritious products,” Pepsi’s Global Chief Commercial Officer Ram Krishnan said in a statement.
Beyond Meat currently has a market value of just under $10 billion.
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