Beyond Meat Rocketed 128% in a Day. Then it Crashed—Is it the Next Big Meme Stock?

Shares of the maker of plant-based meat substitutes Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) exploded higher by over 1,300% in a few days before crashing back to earth, shattering the quick gains that traders hoped to hang onto. Now that shares of Beyond Meat are right back in the gutter, now off close to 77% from the monthly spike, many investors might be wondering if the hyper-volatile play has any more bullish energy left in the tank and if the latest dip (more like an implosion) is a buying opportunity to get in ahead of meme traders who might be inclined to give the name a second look with the hopes of getting in before another meme-esque spike.

Beyond Meat stock boomed, then went bust. What next?

Undoubtedly, Beyond Meat stock has been quite the trader’s playground, and with a 2.34 beta, the shares might be too much for most market newcomers to handle. Despite the wild trading activity, I actually think Beyond Meat stock is fairly decent as a long-term value investment, as well, in spite of the barrage of issues facing the company. Maybe that’s the best way to play those turbulent shares of Beyond Meat, especially given the likelihood that future news items could cause double-digit or even triple-digit percentage moves in a single day.

That’s unprecedented volatility, and while the short sellers might have learned their lesson after the explosive boom in the stock, I wouldn’t be all too surprised if the name continues to become a battleground between the shorts and meme traders hereon out. While I wouldn’t be inclined to chase the stock with meme gain intentions, I do think that it’s a terrible idea to go short, especially as the meme traders begin to go into hibernation for some unknown period of time.

The Beyond Meat meme frenzy might not be over yet

As we found out with shares of GameStop (NYSE:GME), heavily-shorted meme stocks can experience resurgences after their original booms. As such, no short-seller is safe, even when it comes to the companies with the worst financials in the world.

Personally, I’m actually a fan of the Beyond Meat product and think the meme stock might be worth stashing away in the speculative part of one’s portfolio. Just don’t expect a meme spike anytime soon and Beyond Meat might be something that actually helps scratch the itch to speculate while also punching your ticket to some seriously deep value, especially if management can turn the corner, either by limiting cash bleed or finding a way to power sales higher again, either through strategic partnerships, new innovations, or simply updates to existing products to make them taste better.

Either way, the alternative meat space has grown quite competitive over the years, but with some easier comparables on the way and a plan that might actually be worth getting behind for serious long-term investors, there’s something to be constructive about here.

And, of course, there’s potential for future short squeezes as well now that the name has gotten the attention of the legendary WallStreetBets crowd, who might be as hungry for some Beyond Meat chicken tenders as they are to bring it to the short-selling crowd. In any case, gone are the days when it’s easy to make big money via short-selling fallen companies.

The bottom line

Arguably, it’s better to go bottom-fishing for value in the beaten-down names as they trade at rock-bottom prices with expectations that have essentially been set to the floor. While cigar-butt investing might be out of style on Wall Street, I must say I’m intrigued by Beyond Meat, and the short squeeze potential has nothing to do with it.