A recently filed securities fraud class action alleges that Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND), through certain officers and directors, made material misrepresentations and omissions concerning the Company’s ability to produce plant-based meats at scale to the specifications of its key customers, who the Company refers to as “partners.”
It is alleged that Beyond Meat misled investors by boasting about the success of its product tests with its large-scale partnerships, including prominent food retailers like McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Beyond Meat assured investors and partners that it would “ensure manufacturability” through “extensive testing,” and that it was capable of manufacturing the unique plant-based meat products at commercial scale. Further, Beyond Meat blamed any delays in launching these large-scale partnerships on Covid-19.
Certain Beyond Meat executives profited enormously from this scheme by selling hundreds of thousands of shares of their personally held Company stock at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. For instance, Defendant Nelson sold 440,000 shares of Beyond Meat stock during the Class Period for over $58.3 million in proceeds.
The truth began to emerge on October 22, 2021, when Beyond Meat announced that the Company was reducing its third quarter net revenues outlook by up to $34 million, or 25%. As part of the announcement, Beyond Meat also revealed that the Company’s expenses and inventories were continuing to rise. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Beyond Meat stock declined by $12.82 per share, or nearly 12%, from $108.62 per share to $95.80 per share.
Then, on November 10, 2021, Beyond Meat announced a $1.8 million write-off of unsold inventory. As a result of this disclosure, the price of Beyond Meat stock declined by $12.55 per share, or nearly 13%, from $94.48 per share to $81.93 per share.
However, Beyond Meat continued to assure investors of the success of its partnerships. For example, on November 10, 2021, Defendant Brown claimed that the Company “overcame numerous technical challenges” and blamed its poor financial results on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then, on November 17, 2021, an article was published in Bloomberg highlighting the delays in production and execution challenges Beyond Meat was facing. Former employees reported that there were “significant internal problems” stemming from “confusion and misalignment . . . [and] belated decision-making” that corresponded with exacerbated production delays. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Beyond Meat stock declined by $3.01 per share, or more than 3.5%, from $83.48 per share to $80.97 per share.
On December 9, 2021, after the market closed, multiple media sources reported that Taco Bell had cancelled a planned product test due to ongoing quality concerns. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Beyond Meat stock declined by $5.58 per share, or nearly 8%, from $70.09 per share to $64.51 per share.
On October 14, 2022, Beyond Meat announced the departure of several top executives, including the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, Chief Growth Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Beyond Meat stock declined by $1.43 per share, or over 9.6%, from $14.78 per share to $13.35 per share.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the resulting decline in the market value of Beyond Meat’s stock, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
Current Beyond Meat shareholders who have held Beyond Meat stock since prior to May 5, 2020, can seek corporate reforms, the return of funds spent defending litigation back to the company, and a court approved incentive award at no cost to them whatsoever.
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