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During the company's first trading day on Wall Street, Beyond Meat's stock price climbed 163%, which demonstrates an amazing interest in a new generation of companies that create alternatives to herbal meat.
Beyond Meat, which makes veggie burgers and sausages, started at $ 25 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and closed the day at $ 65.75.
The first trading day of the stock market is one of the most important of the recent I.P.O. l & # 39; history. According to data from Professor Jay Ritter of the University of Florida, in the past decade, only two other companies – both biotech start-ups – have experienced larger increases over the past decade. first days of trading on major US stock exchanges.
Beyond Meat is the first alternative company to meat, herbal, to be floated on the stock market, but it is part of a growing sector of start-ups seeking to replace animal agriculture. And the last weeks have provided several indications of the rise of the activity.
Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat's biggest competitor, has teamed up with Burger King to roll out a meatless version of the Whopper sandwich last month. Burger King announced this week that it will be offering the sandwich at all of its restaurants in the United States, after a test at the company's restaurants in St. Louis that exceeded expectations.
One day after the announcement of Burger King, McDonald's chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, told analysts that his company "pays close attention" to the trend and is considering developing a meat-free alternative to hamburgers.
In the run-up to Beyond Meat I.P.O., the poultry company Tyson Foods announced that it had sold its initial stake in Beyond Meat, in part because the food conglomerate was developing its own vegetable protein.
Like many high-tech companies that make their debut on Wall Street this year, Beyond Meat is losing money – $ 30 million last year. But revenues grew faster than losses, from 170% to $ 88 million.
And like its competitors, Beyond Meat has argued to investors that its herbal burgers and sausages can appeal to mainstream meat consumers and exit the niche market traditionally occupied by vegetarian alternatives.
The Los Angeles-based start-up attempted to imitate the texture and taste of meat with ingredients such as pea protein and beet juice. But he also pleaded for the environmental and health benefits of the abandonment of meat.
"I see this as a movement," said Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown on Thursday. "We are exploiting something important in consumers – in the human race."
Beyond meat products are now available in 15,000 supermarkets and several fast food chains.
In the period prior to Ipo, Beyond Meat regularly increased the number of shares it intended to sell and the price at which it planned to begin trading.
The company eventually raised approximately $ 240 million in the public offering, which is more than it had done in private markets. At the last fundraiser from investors last fall, the company was valued at $ 1.35 billion, according to Pitchbook.
Beyond Meat ended Thursday for $ 3.8 billion. The assets of Beyond Meat's founder, Mr. Brown, are now worth more than $ 200 million.
Beyond Meat is a bit disappointed from the beginning, as it suggests that the company could have raised a lot more money from investors.
At an initial public offering, companies report only what they sell at the initial bid price – $ 25 in the case of Beyond Meat. As a result, all subsequent gains went to investors rather than to society.
"Maybe we could have made more money, but it is gratifying to see the market response," Brown said.
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