Beyond Meat's stock hit an all-time high of $234.90 in July 2019 as the bulls gushed over the growth potential of its plant-based meat products. But today, it trades at about $21. Some contrarian investors might be tempted to nibble on Beyond Meat at these depressed levels, but I believe it's still smarter to sell it for 10 simple reasons.

1. Its growth has stalled out

Beyond Meat expects its revenue to grow just 1%-12% this year, compared to its 14% growth in 2021, 37% in 2020, and 239% in 2019. It blames that slowdown on inflation, which has curbed the market's appetite for pricier plant-based meat products. Its sales in Europe also fell sharply in the first half of 2022 and erased all its growth from 2021.

2. It faces too many competitors

As consumers lose their appetite for plant-based meat, more competitors are splitting up the shrinking market. Impossible Foods, which hasn't gone public yet, continues to pull restaurants and retailers from Beyond Meat.

The meatpacking giant Tyson Foods launched its own plant-based meat products in Asia last year, while Kellogg plans to spin off its own plant-based meat division, Morningstar Farms. Beyond Meat doesn't have much of a moat against these big competitors.

3. It's losing its pricing power

The combination of inflation and competition has significantly reduced Beyond Meat's pricing power. As a result, its year-over-year growth in revenue per pound flatlined and fell sharply over the past year.

Period

Q2 2021

Q3 2021

Q4 2021

Q1 2022

Q2 2022

Growth in revenue per pound (YOY)

0%

0%

(7%)

(10%)

(14%)

Data source: Beyond Meat. YOY = year over year.

It mainly blamed that deterioration on markdowns, sales to liquidation channels, and currency headwinds from a strong dollar. All those challenges should persist for the foreseeable future.

4. The plant-based meat craze is over

Beyond Meat initially grew like a weed because restaurants and retailers were eager to test out its plant-based meat products. But that enthusiasm waned throughout the pandemic, and it's continuing to fade as inflation pushes consumers back toward cheaper meat-based products.

McDonald's notably ended its test of the McPlant in the U.S. this summer. Other early adopters -- including Jack in the Box's Del Taco, TGI Fridays, and Inspire Brands' Dunkin' -- have also gradually stopped selling Beyond Meat's products. Beyond tried to fill that growing void with its Planet Partnership joint venture with PepsiCo, which launched Beyond Meat Jerky this March, but it's now selling that jerky at much lower margins than its other products.