Thursday morning has seen US markets open lower as investors continue to digest high monthly inflation readings in what has been a chaotic week for indexes across the globe.
Oil, gold and Bitcoin prices were all lower in early morning trading.
Here are today’s trending stocks:
Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND)
Veggie-friendly alternatives experts Beyond Meat are taking a beating on Thursday morning following a wider than anticipated first quarter adjusted loss per share of $1.58, compared to a Refinitiv estimate of a $1.01 loss.
Revenue was also wide of the mark, coming in nearly $3m short of the bar at $109.5m. Margins came under pressure during the period after the company released a new plant-based jerky product that carries a high-cost of manufacturing. The company said it expected these costs to reduce in the coming months.
President and CEO Ethan Brown said:
“Though we recognize that the decisions we are making today in support of our long-run ambition have contributed to challenging near-term results, including a sizable though temporary reduction in gross margin as we took cost-intensive measures to support important strategic launches, we are confident in the future we are building while advancing our mission to bring plant-based meats and their attendant health, climate, natural resource, and animal welfare benefits to consumers around the world.”
The stock, which had already had a challenging year that had seen its price slashed by more than half, was down by over 4% in early trading.
Stealth BioTherapeutics (NASDAQ: MITO)
This biopharma specialist saw its share price rocket by more than 70% after the opening bell. The action follows the company’s announcement that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to elamipretide for the treatment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Despite improved treatment options for DMD, most patients sadly pass away in early adulthood from respiratory or, more commonly, cardiac failure. Stealth said it was hoping that its treatment will bring about the new options that patients desperately need.
This designation provides various development benefits for an investigational drug like elamipretide, including seven-year exclusivity after marketing approval is received.
Dutch Bros. Coffee (NYSE: BROS)
Shareholders of drive-thru coffee outfit Dutch Bros were dealt a blow on Thursday morning after the company highlighted inflation concerns in its first quarter earnings update.
President and CEO Joth Ricci commented:
“We were not immune to the record inflation that surpassed our expectations and pressured margins in our company-operated shops. While we believe these margin impacts may be short-term, we have opted to take a more conservative stance regarding adjusted EBITDA for 2022 as we monitor our pricing and the escalating cost environment.”
The company also projected that same shop sales across the full year would be flat to slightly negative amidst macro-economic headwinds impacting consumer discretionary income and gas prices.
The coffee specialist’s share price was down by more than 40%, leaving the stock at the lowest level it has plumbed since its IPO in September.
Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS)
Entertainment powerhouse Disney has seen its share price dip before the opening bell after its latest earnings release left investors disappointed. The mass media goliath missed expectations across the second quarter, with adjusted EPS of $1.08 and revenue of $19.2bn failing to hit the mark.
However, the company escaped the fate of Netflix over the last few months, with its Disney+ streaming service beating expectations as it added 7.9 million new subscribers to its ranks.
CEO Bob Chapek said:
“Our strong results in the second quarter, including fantastic performance at our domestic parks and continued growth of our streaming services—with 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million—once again proved that we are in a league of our own.”
The company’s shares were down by almost 4% in early trading.
Lordstown Motors Corp (NASDAQ: RIDE)
This electric vehicle manufacturer is one of few stocks in the green in premarket trading. This comes after the company announced it had entered an agreement to sell its Ohio vehicle assembly plant to Foxconn for $230m plus operating and expansion costs.
The company also confirmed it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Foxconn to co-develop EV programs using Foxconn's Mobility-in-Harmony open-source EV platform. The new joint venture will be called MIH EV Design LLC and will be 55% owned by Foxconn and 45% by LMC.
Foxconn is committing $100m towards the new joint venture, including a loan to Lordstown for $45m to support its initial capital commitment. The company’s share price was up by more than 9% at the time of writing.
