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

Beyond Meat Inc.’s
BYND,
+3.27%
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,
-5.38%
and Oatly Group AG
OTLY,
-9.72%.
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%