Shares of Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) fell in Friday morning trading after J.P. Morgan said McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) ended its U.S. test of the McPlant burger, which uses Beyond’s meatless patties.
The fast-food giant confirmed Thursday that the McPlant test concluded as planned. Neither McDonald’s nor Beyond Meat has announced any plans for additional testing or a nationwide launch.
Beyond’s stock has fallen 53% this year, dragging its market value down to $2.06 billion. Wall Street has become skeptical over the company’s long-term growth opportunities as grocery sales lag. Moreover, buzzy partnerships with restaurant giants like Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM) and McDonald’s haven’t progressed to many permanent nationwide menu offerings yet.
McDonald’s first tested the meat-free burger in eight restaurants in the U.S. in November to understand how the menu item would impact its kitchens. In mid-February, it rolled the McPlant out to roughly 600 locations to learn more about consumer demand for the menu item.
Analyst research reported lackluster demand for the Beyond burger. An analyst with BTIG wrote in a June note that franchisees told him that McPlant sales were disappointing, coming in at or below the low end of projections.
One J.P. Morgan analyst wrote in his note on Thursday that some McDonald’s restaurant employees told him that the burger didn’t sell well enough, potentially putting a nationwide launch in jeopardy.
Shares in BYND dropped 15 cents to $31.25, while those for MCD lost 22 cents to $263.24.
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