Is Beyond Meat the next meme-stock?

Beyond Meat is on a red-hot streak: the stock is up 353% in the past 5 days.

But, because Flank is the place for intelligent investors, it's also important to point out the stock is down 97% in the past 5 years. Let's not get short sighted.

## Why is this happening?

The latest surge appears to be from a short squeeze, by which the price of a heavily shorted stock rises suddenly, forcing short sellers to buy back shares to cover their positions

Some retail investors spelled this out clearly on social media. One Reddit user declared in a post on Oct. 14 that it was time to “make $BYND great again” asserting the stock “deserves a squeeze.” One redditor said, "this isn't just a veggie burger anymore, it's a symbol of rebellion"

This quick search of Google Trends helps show how much interest is surging:

## Is the stock a buy?

Probably not, but I do want to learn more (my wife and I went pescatarian for awhile, and I a Beyond Beef Shepards pie is awesome)

It is important to note that the company has a 15% global market share of the plant-based meat market.

The company has started their goal to expand revenue to $1.5B by 2027, while maintaining a 30% growth profit margin.... these are their stated growth plans:

Diversification beyond beef alternatives into a full spectrum of plant-based proteins, including poultry, pork, and seafood alternatives.
Aggressive international expansion, particularly in Asia and Europe, where plant-based meat adoption is accelerating.
Technological innovation in fermentation and cell-cultured meat, positioning Beyond Meat at the forefront of the next wave of alternative proteins.

They've just released Beyond Meat chicken tenders, which are reviewed pretty nicely.

Ugh, yeah, I'm interested enough to study this company. More research to come!