Beyond Meat (BYND) is partnering up with fast-food chains Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut to expand the reach of its famous plant-based beef in China.The news sent shares up 6.2% on Friday. According to social media site Weibo, the plant-based meat pioneer will be rolling out its products with KFC from June. The partnership with Pizza Hut is slated to start in the coming week. No further details were announced.“We’re proud to expand our partnership with KFC into China, one of their largest markets worldwide, as well as introduce a new partnership with Pizza Hut in China,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in an e-mail response to Bloomberg. "We'll be sharing more details soon."Back in April, Beyond Meat made the foray into the market in China announcing a partnership with Starbucks (SBUX). The coffee chain operator is offering a new menu to Chinese customers featuring the company’s ‘beef’ in pastas and lasagna, as well as non-dairy milk and fake pork products.During the same month, Yum China’s KFC also announced that it will begin its first Chinese trial of a plant-based version of its popular fried chicken. According to the company’s Weibo page, U.S. agribusiness Cargill Ltd will supply the nuggets.Beyond Meat’s expansion plans have fueled its share price to more than double since March 18. The stock traded at $128.29 as of Friday. Following the impressive rally, the $90.64 average analyst price target now indicates 29% downside potential from current levels. (See Beyond Meat stock analysis on TipRanks)However, one of the analysts sees more gains in the offing for Beyond Meat’s stock. Five-star analyst Peter Saleh, on May 19 initiated the stock with a Buy rating and $173 price target, reflecting 35% upside potential over the coming year, citing strong sales growth in coming years.“The company’s stated goal is to tackle the $1.4 trillion global meat industry,” Saleh wrote in a note to investors, adding that about $270 billion of that is spent in the U.S. “The adoption of Beyond’s products by mainstream customers in the suburbs will be the key to long-term success. We expect the company to expand into other protein categories including poultry to help broaden its appeal.”The analyst forecasts sales to grow 56% in 2020 and 51% in 2021.The rest of Wall Street analysts remain sidelined on Beyond Meat’s stock right now. The Hold analyst consensus is divided into 5 Hold, 5 Sell and 4 Buy ratings.Related News: Hormel Stock Rises After It Reports Record Sales Papa John’s U.S. Pizza Sales Jump 33.5%; Shares Pop 7% In Pre-Market Uber In Partnership With MoneyGram For Driver Discount During Pandemic More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Delays Rollout Of Android Beta Version Amid U.S. Protests * Facebook Holds ‘Productive’ Call With Trump, As Social Media War Rages On * Nordstrom's Shares Drop 12% on Difficult Quarter * Chevron to Make Sweeping Job Cuts as Oil Demand Plummets
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(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has effectively bowed to pressure from the continuing rally in U.S. stocks and abandoned its call for another steep sell-off.Strategists led by David Kostin have rolled back their prediction that the S&P 500 would slump to the 2,400 level — over 20% below Friday’s 3,044 close — and now see downside risks capped at 2,750. The U.S. equity benchmark could even rally further to 3,200, they wrote in a May 29 note.“The powerful rebound means our previous three-month target of 2,400 is unlikely to be realized,” the strategists wrote. “Monetary and fiscal policy support limit likely downside to roughly 10%. Investor positioning has oscillated between neutral and low and is a possible 5% upside catalyst.”The shift came just after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s strategists shifted in the other direction — reining in their bullish outlook. JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic warned about rising U.S.-China tensions in a note May 28.JPMorgan’s Kolanovic Dials Back Bullish Stance on EquitiesGoldman’s strategists maintained their year-end target of 3,000 for the benchmark U.S. stock gauge.Goldman continues to argue that short-term returns are skewed to the downside — “or neutral at best” — thanks to the risk of an economic, earnings, trade or political “hiccup” to the normalization trend. A broader participation in the rally would be needed for the S&P 500 to move meaningfully higher.The S&P 500 has climbed 36% from its March 23 low, helped by massive fiscal and monetary support, mega-cap outperformance and optimism about the economy restarting, according to Goldman. Last month it argued fear of missing out was a key driver of the rebound in stocks.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Hong Kong’s stock market surged more than 3% and other global markets also gained Monday after President Donald Trump avoided reigniting a trade war with China amid tension over Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. Global markets sank Friday as investors waited for Trump’s response to Beijing’s security law on Hong Kong.