Plant-based food maker Beyond Meat Inc BYND should be considered the "leading company" in the alternative food space and investors should be buyers of the stock, according to Argus.

The Beyond Meat Analyst

Jim Kelleher initiated coverage of Beyond Meat's stock with a Buy rating and $130 price target.

The Beyond Meat Thesis

Beyond Meat boasts a strong brand as evidenced by fourth-quarter revenue that soared 212% year-over-year to $98.5 million. The analyst said the company is well-positioned to continue gaining market share in the food space from two catalysts:

1. Consumer preferences shifting towards healthier alternatives from meat.
2. Consumers moving away from the traditional meat industry which is "increasingly recognized as harmful" to the environment.

Beyond Meat's stock is trading at a price/sales multiple of 11.7 times on a two-year forward basis, which Kelleher said is a discount to a 22 multiple when the stock started to trade in 2019.

The stock is also trading at a discount to peers on more preferred metrics, like price/sales-to-revenue growth since the company is still young and unprofitable on a GAAP basis. Specifically, Beyond Meat's stock is trading at a price/sales-to-revenue growth multiple of 0.23 versus a subset of "app economy" peers at 0.63 times.

BYND Price Action

Shares of Beyond Meat were trading higher by 4% to $99.30 at time of publication.

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