Finance

Beyond Meat’s Wild Ride: How Retail Traders Triggered a 60% Surge and Revived the Meme Stock Frenzy

Beyond Meat’s stock soared over 60% due to retail traders, fueled by high short interest and social media buzz, echoing meme stock frenzies.

byAndres Castro

October 22, 2025, 3:47 PM

The Beyond Meat logo is viewed on its website through a magnifying glass, set against a stock market chart. By DennisF / Shutterstock.com.

Executive Summary

Beyond Meat shares surged over 60% on Wednesday, following a 146% jump on Tuesday, primarily driven by renewed buying from retail traders and reminiscent of previous meme stock frenzies.

The plant-based meat company is one of the market’s most heavily shorted stocks, with approximately 81.8% of its free-float held by short sellers, making it a prime candidate for a short squeeze despite struggling with declining sales and debt.

Retail traders purchased a record nearly $35 million worth of Beyond Meat stock on Tuesday, with strong community engagement and advocacy on social media platforms like Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets and X.com fueling the interest.

The Story So Far

Beyond Meat has been struggling with declining sales and a substantial debt load, which has led its stock to drop significantly and made it one of the market’s most heavily shorted companies. This financial vulnerability, coupled with a high percentage of shares held by short sellers, has made it an attractive target for retail traders seeking to initiate a short squeeze, reminiscent of past meme stock frenzies.

Why This Matters

The dramatic surge in Beyond Meat’s stock, fueled by retail traders and its heavily shorted status, underscores the ongoing influence of “meme stock” dynamics in creating extreme market volatility and triggering short squeezes. This speculative rally, while offering a temporary boost to the struggling company, highlights a potential disconnect between market valuation and fundamental business health, as it doesn’t resolve Beyond Meat’s underlying issues of declining sales and debt. Furthermore, this activity signals a renewed risk appetite among retail investors, affecting other consumer stocks, and demonstrates the significant impact of social media and community engagement on market movements.

Who Thinks What?

Retail traders and advocates, such as Dimitri Semenikhin, believe Beyond Meat was “severely mis-priced and undervalued” and are actively purchasing its stock, viewing the surge as a community-driven trading opportunity.

Market analysts like Ivan Cosovic and Alex Coffey characterize Beyond Meat’s situation as a “classic meme cocktail” driven by a “trading mindset” focused on short-term risk rather than investment capital, citing its loss-making status and heavy short interest.

Short sellers hold significant short positions in Beyond Meat, indicating a belief that the stock’s value will decline, which has made them susceptible to the recent surge and potential short squeeze.

Beyond Meat Inc. shares surged over 60% on Wednesday, fueled by a renewed wave of buying from retail traders. This activity follows a significant 146% jump on Tuesday, which was partly driven by the announcement of an expanded distribution deal with Walmart. The plant-based meat company, which has struggled with declining sales and a substantial debt load, has become one of the market’s most heavily shorted stocks, drawing parallels to previous meme stock frenzies on Wall Street.

Market Dynamics and Short Interest

The recent rally has seen Beyond Meat’s stock price increase nearly seven-fold since October 16, when it reached a low of 50 cents. With approximately 81.8% of its free-float held by short sellers, up from 64% just last week, the company remains a prime candidate for a short squeeze. This surge comes after the stock dropped to an all-time low following a notes exchange offer designed to avert near-term default, albeit at the cost of significant stock dilution.

Ivan Cosovic, managing director of Germany-based data group Breakout Point, characterized Beyond Meat as having “the classic meme cocktail” of being loss-making, heavily shorted, and easily “meme-able.” He noted hundreds of mentions across retail channels, indicating strong community engagement.

Retail Trader Influence and Context

Retail traders purchased nearly $35 million worth of Beyond Meat stock on Tuesday, marking the largest single-day purchase on record, according to Vanda Research data. This surge in interest has also extended to other beaten-down consumer names, including Krispy Kreme and GoPro, which saw their shares rise by approximately 30% and an unspecified amount, respectively, on Wednesday.

Alex Coffey, senior trading & derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, suggested that this activity reflects “a trading mindset as opposed to some sort of investment capital,” indicating a willingness to take short-term risk. The phenomenon revives memories of the 2021 Reddit-driven meme stock frenzy, which saw amateur investors drive up shares of companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment, impacting hedge funds with short positions.

Social Media and Key Figures

Beyond Meat’s shares have gained significant attention this week on popular investor-focused social media platforms, including Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets and X.com. Business Insider reported that trader Dimitri Semenikhin was a key figure behind the enthusiasm, advocating for the company through posts on the X.com handle Capybara Stocks.

Semenikhin told Reuters that he believed the company was “severely mis-priced and undervalued” when its stock traded under a dollar, leading him to purchase over 4% of the float pre-dilution. He expressed surprise at the “scale at which this has been happening and speed and community engagement that this has formed.”

Broader Market and ETF Impact

The broader market has also seen optimism, driven by advancements in AI and expectations of potential interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, pushing the market to record highs. The Roundhill MEME exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks retail-favorite stocks, advanced 5.3% on Wednesday, having added Beyond Meat to its holdings on Monday with the largest weightage at approximately 10.2%.

Summary

Beyond Meat’s recent stock surge is largely attributed to a significant influx of retail trader buying, capitalizing on the company’s high short interest and social media momentum. This activity, reminiscent of past meme stock events, has provided a temporary boost to the struggling plant-based meat producer, alongside other shorted consumer companies.