** Beyond Meat's BYND.O shares jump ~69% to as high as $2.48 early Tues, for a fivefold surge in struggling plant-based meat maker's stock over the past three sessions
** El Segundo, California-based firm early Tues announces it plans to increase availability of select products at over 2,000 Walmart WMT.N U.S. stores
** Along with the expansion, BYND introduces new Beyond Burger 6-patty value pack
** Since hitting a record low of 50 cents last Thurs, BYND shares have soared amid a potential short squeeze
** Trading volume recently has eclipsed the stock's prior record levels: on Fri, ~438 mln shares changed hands, on Mon, ~1.2 bln shares traded, and more than 550 mln shares have traded on Tues
** Last week, BYND announced early settlement of debt exchange offer, including issuance of over 300 mln new shares
** BYND now has roughly 398 mln shares outstanding and about 379 mln shares of free float, per LSEG data
** BYND shares last up 40% at $2.07 on the session
** 5 of 8 analysts covering BYND rate the stock "sell" or "strong sell" and 3 rate "hold" and median PT is $2.42, per LSEG data
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com ; 1-646-279-6380))
