One of the stocks with the highest surges in premarket trading this morning is Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND). As of the time of this writing, shares in BYND are up a staggering 67% before the opening bell.
But what’s driving this surge? Here’s what you need to know.
Beyond Meat’s recent struggles
Today’s premarket stock price jump follows a significant rally on Friday for Beyond Meat, the California-based producer of plant-based meat alternatives, whose shares closed up more than 24% to end the trading week at 64 cents per share, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
The stock price surge, which is now in its second trading day, may come as a surprise to many, considering that Beyond Meat is experiencing significant financial woes as of late.
As noted by Bloomberg, the company has seen a decline in interest in its plant-based products in recent years, with consumers being put off by high prices, the taste of the product, and its excessive processing.
Weakening demand for meat alternatives in the U.S. helped lead to a 19.6% decline in sales in Beyond Meat’s most recent quarter, Q2 2025. Beyond Meat reported $75 million in revenues during that quarter.
Earlier this year, Beyond Meat had attempted a brand pivot in hopes of returning to its former glory, as Fast Company reported.
More recently, however, the company announced that its creditors had agreed to a debt swap, in which the company will issue 316 million new shares—thereby diluting the value of its current shares.
This event contributed to a significant fall in the stock. As of Friday’s closing price, BYND shares were down more than 82% for the year.
Beyond Meat shares surge in premarket trading
So why are BYND shares surging this morning?
Yahoo Finance points out that Friday’s and today’s share price surge is not due to any fundamental financial shifts in the company.
Instead, it is the result of “a sudden spike in trading volume amid a classic short squeeze, where a heavily shorted stock experiences a sharp rise, forcing bearish investors to buy back shares to limit losses.” As investors are forced into buying back the stock, its price rises.
Some retail traders on Reddit have been pumping up the stock, even though analyst ratings have largely turned negative. In the past, Beyond Meat has been cited as being among the so-called meme stocks that online traders rally behind, a list that has included Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and others this year.
Even with today’s premarket stock price surge, BYND shares have performed poorly in 2025. In February, they were trading above $4.40 per share at one point. And even that 2025 share price high is dismal when you consider the company’s stock price going back further.
In 2019, shortly after Beyond Meat went public, its shares were trading north of $230 at one point. The stock’s price has dropped massively since its IPO debut, leading to a decline of more than 98% as of Friday’s close.
Earlier this month, it entered penny stock territory, hitting a low of around 50 cents a share.