Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) shares surged Wednesday morning. The move follows a volatile Tuesday session. Retail traders are again targeting heavily shorted equities.

Short Squeeze Dynamics In Play

Short interest in the plant-based protein company climbed. Data shows a rise from 133.53 million to 141.73 million shares. This represents 30.82% of the company’s publicly available float.

Current trading volume averages 26.97 million shares per day. At this pace, short sellers need 5.25 days to cover positions.

Meme-Stock Momentum Returns

The stock is joining a broader meme basket narrative. Traders are focusing on names with structural weaknesses and high retail interest. Beyond Meat is moving alongside Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) and Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS).

Beyond Meat Technical Analysis

Beyond Meat is rebounding off the lower end of its 52-week range after setting a 52-week low in October, but it’s still far below the prior 52-week high of $7.69—keeping the longer-term recovery story fragile.

The stock is trading 54.6% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 27% above its 100-day SMA.

The relative strength index (RSI), a momentum gauge, is 68.92, which is near the overbought threshold and can mean upside is getting crowded in the short run.

The 12-month return is down 60.04%. The fact that the stock is still 33.1% below its 200-day SMA also reinforces that the long-term trend hasn’t fully flipped back to bullish.

  • Key Resistance: $1.50
  • Key Support: $1

BYND Stock Price Activity: Beyond Meat shares were up 6.22% at $1.11 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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