Wall Street Goes Vegan With Beyond Meat's IPO Soaring $3.8 Billion

Shares of Beyond Meat rose more than 160% in their market debut on Thursday. The mock meat burger giant which counts Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Gates among its investors began trading at $46 per share and traded up to $72 during the day, before closing at $65.75.

The shares surged minutes after trading began and were halted due to volatility. The plant-based company that had warned it may never turn a profit closed with a market capitalization of around $3.8 billion based on shares outstanding, including underwriters' options.

Earlier on Tuesday, increased demand from investors led the company to raise the size and price of its offering and the IPO raised $240 million giving Beyond Meat the firepower to compete with other rivals such as Silicon Valley startup Impossible Foods Inc. in the bustling imitation meat market. 

Ethan Brown, Founder & Chief Executive conveyed that proceeds would be invested in expanding market efforts, develop new products, establish production centres in Europe and Asia and open additional manufacturing facilities in the U.S. 

Supermarket sales of meat alternatives surged 19.2 per cent to $878 million for the year ended Jan. 5, according to data from Nielsen. A growing number of consumers are looking for more plant-based meat alternatives because of concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment.

Startups like Beyond Meat are tapping into that demand by offering beef-like versions of the veggie burger and other meat products.