Insights 
VT 
Beyond Meat, a company selling plant-based meat alternatives, saw its stock price soar by approximately 1,200% this week, peaking at about $8.70 per share from last Friday’s close of 67 cents. A short squeeze rally was a key driver in this dramatic increase. However, as of Wednesday afternoon, the stock had dropped to around $3.35 per share, still marking a 400% rise for the week.
The stock’s recent activity mirrors characteristics of a meme stock rally, instigated by a short squeeze. Beyond Meat’s low last week followed an all-time low of 55 cents per share after a debt restructuring announcement. Shareholder dilution and analyst downgrades led to heavy shorting of the stock. The rally initiated this week when Beyond Meat expanded its Walmart distribution and got added to the Roundhill MEME Stock ETF, prompting a sharp increase in share price.
Beyond Meat has faced challenges in generating profit and revenue. In the second quarter, the company’s revenue was $75 million, marking a 20% decline year over year, with a net loss of $29 million. Wild price fluctuations in Beyond Meat’s stock caution investors to await more clarity from the upcoming Q3 earnings release.
We are seeing a classic short squeeze in Beyond Meat, driven by its addition to a meme stock ETF and an expanded Walmart deal. After a week that saw the stock jump 1,200% before falling back, implied volatility on its options is now extremely high. This makes buying calls or puts very expensive, as the premiums reflect the massive uncertainty.
Given this setup, traders will likely look to sell this inflated volatility rather than buy it. Strategies like selling covered calls against existing share positions or using bear call spreads could be attractive to bet that the stock won’t reach its recent highs again. This approach allows us to profit from the expected decay in both time and volatility as the excitement fades.
The company’s fundamentals support a cautious stance, as it remains unprofitable with revenues that fell 20% in the second quarter. Looking back, we know that short interest in Beyond Meat has been persistently high, with data from earlier in 2025 showing over 40% of its free float was sold short. This heavy institutional betting against the company is what fueled the squeeze, but it also highlights the long-term business challenges.
The key date to watch is the November 4th earnings release, which is now less than two weeks away. We can expect volatility to remain elevated leading into this event, creating a binary outcome for the stock price. This provides a clear timeframe for short-dated options plays that look to capitalize on the inevitable post-earnings volatility crush.
