(Reuters) -Beyond Meat posted a bigger quarterly loss and forecast fourth-quarter sales below Wall Street estimates on Monday, as the plant-based meat maker grappled with sluggish demand for its products.
The highly shorted stock was down 8% in extended trading. The shares had soared more than 1,350% over a span of three days in late October, reviving memories of the meme stock frenzy on Wall Street.
The faux-meat producer has faced waning demand after an early boom, as inflation-weary consumers turned away from its pricier products amid a shift toward less processed and, more recently, the influence of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
CEO Ethan Brown reiterated that "category headwinds and an accompanying softer top-line continue" to weigh on the company.
It expects sales between $60 million and $65 million for the fourth quarter, compared with estimates of $70.03 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Beyond Meat posted a net loss of $110.7 million for the third quarter, compared with $26.6 million a year ago, mainly due to impairment charges related to certain assets and the suspension of its China operations earlier this year.
Brown said the company was pursuing further and sizable cost cuts.
The company, which had delayed its quarterly results, posted an adjusted loss per share of 47 cents.
Quarterly revenue was in line with what was pre-announced, down 13.3% at $70.2 million but edged past the $69 million average estimate.
Shares of Beyond Meat have lost two-thirds of their value this year, as investors also reacted to a debt-for-equity swap in September to help avoid near-term default on its credit.
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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