Everyone probably knows at least one person who tried to make sourdough bread from scratch. The surge in home cooking boosted companies from grocery retailers to food staple companies, like Campbell Soup.Campbell saw a surge in sales, with a 40+% jump in Q2.  The issue today is that consumer patience with the pandemic is waning, as may be the enthusiasm for cooking at home.

Maker of plant-based meat substitute Beyond Meat Inc.  reported a surprise third quarter loss on coronavirus pandemic effect. Beyond Meat’s adjusted loss for the three months ending in September came in at -28 cents per share, vs. the Street forecast of a +5 cents per share profit.  Revenue increased +2.7% year-over-year to $94.4 billion, but was below short analysts' forecasts of $132.8 million . "We experienced the full brunt and unpredictability of COVID-19's impact for the first time in Q3, producing net revenues of $94 million, a sequential drop from record net revenues of $113 million in Q2," founder and CEO Ethan Brown told investors late Monday.

In 3 of 3 similar past instances, the stock price increased further within the following month.The odds of a continued downward trend are 53%. Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further.

General Mills Inc. reported its fiscal first quarter earnings that handily beat analysts’ expectations.  The packaged food company’s  adjusted earnings for the three months ending in August came in at $1.00 per share, well ahead of the Street estimates of 87 cents a share.

Beyond Meat, maker of plant-based  meat substitute, got a rating downgrade from analysts at JPMorgan, as the latter expressed concerns that the fundamentals are not supporting the stock’s rally.  JPMorgan analysts Ken Goldman lowered his rating on the Beyond Meat shares to 'underweight' from 'neutral', with a price target of $122 per share. Over the past six months,  Beyond Meat shares have rallied by more than +190% - something that Goldman feels was "above and beyond” what they consider rational “even for a good company like Beyond Meat".The odds of a continued upward trend are 57%. The 10-day Moving Average for BYND crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on September 09, 2020.

General Mills reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings and sales that surpassed analysts’ expectations.The figure beat the $1.06 expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Sales climbed +21% year-over-year to $5.02 billion,  compared to analysts’ estimate of $5 billion. Strong demand for  baking goods, cereals, snacks and pastries led to accelerated net sales growth in the North America Retail segment, according to the company.

McDonald's  confirmed that it had phased out its Beyond Meat burger trial in Canada.  McDonald's launched two consecutive trials of its plant, lettuce and tomato burger in several restaurants in Ontario Between Sept. 30 and April 6.In 51 of 57 cases where BYND Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month.

This represents a 10% premium to the company’s peers, according to the analysts. The analysts, led by Bryan Spillane, are expecting the Kellogg’s organic sales to grow +2.3% in fiscal 2020, and net sales to rise by + 0.1%.The analysts are projecting operating profit growth (excluding the Keebler divestiture) of +6%. According to the analysts, Kellogg has taken measures to boost sales growth over the past two years, even as profits have lagged.

General Mills’ latest quarterly earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations, thanks to growth in demand for pet foods.  For the quarter ended November 24, the food company’s earnings (excluding items) came in at 95 cents per share, beating the 88 cents expected by analysts (based on IBES data from Refinitiv). Net sales increased to $4.42 billion from $4.41 billion, but fell short of analysts’ estimate of $4.43 billion (according to IBES data from Refinitiv).Sales at its pet segment climbed +16%, on the back of price increases and the recent rollout of Blue Buffalo products in Walmart stores. Last year, General Mills acquired Blue Buffalo Pet Products for $8 billion.  

Kraft Heinz’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending in September came in a 69 cents per share, surpassing the Street consensus expectation of 54 cents per share.The figure was down -9.2% year-over-year, though.  The food behemoth’s revenues declined -4.38% to $6.1 billion, which is in-line with analysts' estimates. Earlier this year, Kraft Heinz revealed that an internal investigation found that several of its employees in the procurement area of the group were involved in misconduct linked to the recognition of costs and rebates, leading to the restatement of its financial results for 2016 and 2017; but it said that senior management wasn't involved.

Kellogg reported its latest quarter results, which revealed better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share and revenue. The breakfast cereal maker’s adjusted earnings came in at $1.03, ahead of the 91-cent FactSet consensus expectation.  Sales fell - 2.8% year-over-year to $3.37 billion in the quarter, but still exceeded analysts’ estimate of $3.35 billion (based on FactSet poll). The  decline in sales were largely due to the divestiture of the cookie, fruit snack, pie crust and ice cream cone businesses. Unfavorable foreign-currency translations also affected performance.However, organic sales rose more than +2%. Within North America, Kellogg’s organic growth was bolstered by brands including Pringles potato chips, Cheez-It snacks, Rice Krispies Treats and Pop-Tarts. Currency headwinds hurt net sales in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific-Mideast-Africa. Kellogg expects its currency-neutral adjusted earnings per share  to decline by about -10%

Several analysts slashed their price targets on the stock on Tuesday. Analysts at Credit Suisse reduced their price target on Beyond Meat shares to $115 a share from $135 share.The analysts maintained their neutral rating. Analyst Robert Moskow indicated that they are “tamping down” 2026 sales estimate and  price-to-sales multiple to 5.5x (from 6.0x), on what they perceive to be increasing competition in the plant-based meat substitute category. J.P.

Shares of Conagra Brands climbed Thursday,  after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations. The owner of food brands including Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim and others reported adjusted earnings of 43 cents a share, compared to analysts' expectations of 39 cents. Net income of $173.8 million, or 36 cents a share, came in lower compared to the year-ago quarter’s $178.2 million, or 45 cents a share. Sales increased to $2.39 billion (from the prior year's $1.82 billion), but missed Wall Street's estimate of $2.48 billion. Chief Executive Sean Connolly indicated that although Conagra’s Foodservice and International businesses experienced unexpected softness on sales for the quarter, they surpassed its operating profit and margin expectations. For full year 2020, Conagra projects net sales growth of 13.5% to 14%, and adjusted earnings per range of $2.08 to $2.18, reiterating its guidance.      

Beyond Meat shares fell - 5% on Monday, following Exane BNP Paribas underperform rating. Analyst Mikheil Omanadze initiated coverage of the plant-based food producer with an underperform rating and a $70 price target.Omanadze  expressed concerns over the company’s shares valuation since he feels that barriers to entry in the meat alternatives industry are negligible. Beyond Meat incurred a second-quarter loss of -24 cents a share – for the first time as a public company.

Kellogg got a rating boost from Goldman Sachs on Friday. Analysts at Goldman Sachs raised their rating on the cereal maker’s stock to buy from neutral.They also hiked price target on the shares to $72 from $58, a potential 15% upside over the stock's closing price Thursday of $62.84. Calling Kellogg "the most compelling value left in snacks", Goldman Sachs indicated that said Kellogg’s organic sales will accelerate  which in turn should boost profit margins.  

Campbell Soup shares surged +5% before the bell Friday, following its report of fourth quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations. For the quarter ended July 28, the food company  raked in earnings-per-share of 42 cents (excluding certain items), beating the Street estimates by 1 cent, (based on Refinitiv poll of analysts). Net sales from continuing operations increased +2% year-over-year to $1.78 billion. In recent times, Campbell has been increasingly concentrating on its core soup and snack businesses, thereby divesting several of its international and fresh businesses, including Bolthouse Farms and Garden Fresh Gourmet salsa.Last month, the company expressed plans to sell Kelsen Group to a Ferrero affiliated company for $300 million.

Kraft Heinz planned to cut around 400 jobs as of March 31, according to its August 13 regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission The job cuts are  a part of the food behemoth’s restructuring program that's focused on headcount reduction and factory closures and consolidations.As of first quarter 2019, the company has already slashed 100 of the positions.  The restructuring programs resulted in expenses of $27 million for the three months ending March 30, 2019. Kraft Heinz employed 38,000 people at the end of 2018. The company’s second-quarter earnings report mentioned $1 billion in impairments resulting from an investigation into its accounting practices.

Kellogg Co. beat analysts’ expectations on its second quarter sales and earnings. Excluding items, the food manufacturing company earned 99 cents per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 92 cents. However, the company’s overall net income plunged -52% year-over-year to $286 million, largely owing to  restructuring and divestment costs and a lower tax rate in the prior-year period.Higher input costs and a strong dollar also weighed on profits. Kellogg’s total net sales increased +3% year-over-year to $3.46 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $3.41 billion, (based on IBES data from Refinitiv).

Usana Health Sciences shares declined more than -17% Wednesday, following the company’s release of preliminary fiscal second-quarter estimates that fell short of analysts' forecasts. The multi-level marketer of nutritional products is now expecting second-quarter earnings in the range of 91 cents to 95 cents per share, below the $1.36 a share in the year-earlier period.Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting second-quarter earnings of $1.31 a share. The company is estimating sales for the quarter to come in within a range of $253 million to $256 million, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.4 million. CEO Kevin Guest indicated that weakness in China throughout the second quarter proved to be more challenging for Usana than previously anticipated.

Conagra reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The packaged foods company reported adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share, compared to 41 cents a share that analysts polled by FactSet had estimated.However, the figure is still below the $2.06 a share forecast by analysts polled by FactSet Conagra also lowered its full-year fiscal 2020 adjusted earnings guidance to $2.08 to $2.18 per share, compared to its prior forecast of $2.10 to $2.20.