In the wave of short squeezes, a "reverse strike" unfolds: Beyond Meat shorts are skeptical and bet that the meme frenzy will inevitably collapse?
Plant-based protein producer Beyond Meat's stock price soared over 1300% in four days, triggering intense battles among short sellers. Short sellers lost over $120 million, with some urgently covering their positions. Although the stock price fell 1.1% on Wednesday, it still exhibited characteristics of a meme stock driven by retail investors. Walmart expanded the supply of Beyond Meat products to 2,000 stores, further boosting the stock price. The market's divergence on high-valuation targets has intensified, with short selling showing a two-way trend
According to Zhitong Finance APP, plant-based protein producer Beyond Meat (BYND.US) saw its stock price soar over 1300% in four days, reaching a 14-month high during Wednesday's trading session, triggering intense battles among short sellers. Data from S3 Partners LLC shows that this surge has expanded the paper losses for short sellers by over $120 million compared to last week's closing low, with cumulative losses exceeding $45 million this year—just before the retail-driven rebound, short sellers had paper profits close to $80 million for 2025.
The rapid rise from historical lows forced some short sellers to urgently cover their positions to stop losses, with the stock closing down 1.1% on Wednesday after surging 112% during the day, and falling over 10% after hours to $3.20. Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners, pointed out that current short positions are exhibiting a two-way operation: some are being squeezed to cover their shorts, while others believe that the rapid and high increase makes a correction inevitable and choose to double down on shorting. Although the proportion of short interest relative to the float has decreased in recent trading days, it has still increased by over 5 million shares in the past 30 days, indicating a growing divergence.
This round of surges began last Friday and continued its upward momentum on Monday. On the news front, trader Demitri Semenikhin heavily recommended the stock on social media, employing tactics similar to those used by Keith Gill (online alias Roaring Kitty) to boost GameStop (GME.US) stock prices during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Walmart announced it would expand the supply of Beyond Meat products to over 2,000 stores, further driving up the stock price.
Dusaniwsky compared the current scenario to the GameStop incident: some short sellers are being squeezed out, while others are doubling down on shorting due to the rapid and high increase. This meme stock frenzy driven by retail attention once again confirms the extreme volatility characteristics of distressed companies' stock prices under the influx of speculative funds in the short term, while the divergent operations among short sellers further highlight the increasing divergence in the market regarding high-valuation targets
