FINALLY…

Food on the Move: FFF’s weekly roundup of listed FoodTech’s movers & shakers

An ‘Up’ week for FFF’s listed FoodTech space – the week ended 14 July 2023 saw 29 share price risers, 17 fallers and two non-movers.  Why the fuss? Because it’s just the second week since April in which risers have come out on top. That’s why.  As reported in last week’s Food on the Move ‘Signs of life?’, things appeared to be looking up for the sector based on how the gap between fallers and risers had been steadily shrinking in recent weeks. And so, it has proved.  Question is, will the week ended 14 July 2023 prove to be a one-off or the start of a prolonged run for the risers?   

One benefit of an ‘Up’ week – no shortage of risers to comment on.  First up, Laird Superfood (LSF), the plant-based foodie co-founded by big wave surfer Laird Hamilton.  Shares soared 41% to US$1.16 over the course of the week.  The majority of gains were made on Monday 10 July. Same day, LSF was mentioned in despatches by Yahoo Finance - LSF, one of “five stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List” – Zacks being research outfit Zacks Equity Research.  Surf’s up! Sounds swell! Riding the crest of a wave! Bursting at the seams with surf puns…

Another week, another Food on the Move mention for Cibus (CBUS). Shares couldn’t match last week’s whopping 74.3% gain.  Still, a more modest 12% rise sufficient to see the share price break through the US$20 barrier – shares closed at US$20.52. Share price has now (almost) doubled in the space of two weeks. What’s more, the US$26.95 high posted immediately following May’s reverse stock split is now in sight.  The 74 per center was put down to CBUS’ announcement: “Cibus Welcomes European Commission Proposal on Regulation of Plants Obtained from New Genomic Techniques”. This time round, “Cibus Opens Dedicated, High-throughput Gene Editing Facility for Trait Production” appears to have done the trick. More specifically, the “…leading agricultural technology company that develops and licenses plant traits to seed companies for royalties, announced the opening of its Oberlin facility in San Diego with its first Production Run.”

Over to CBUS COO Peter Beetham for an explanation of what the announcement actually means: “The Cibus Trait Machine...allows customers to select their most appropriate elite germplasm to be edited by Cibus. Cibus, in turn, returns to its customers seeds which contain the edits and can be used immediately in the advanced stage of their customer’s breeding program. This is the ‘Future of Breeding’ and why the Trait Machine and Oberlin facility are so important. We are enabling a new scale and speed for farmers to access new traits that will help them produce higher yields at lower costs, in a more sustainable way to address the challenges of climate change.” Seems investors liked what they read and hopped on board the CBUS…

CBUS not the only stock making a second consecutive Food on the Move appearance. As with CBUS, Desert Control’s (DSRT) share price followed up the previous week’s double-digit gains (+28.1%) with…another double-digit gain (+12%).  The AgTech announced: “Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) Receives Product Certification as Organic Fertilizer Authorized for Sale in the UAE”. Liquid Natural Clay? As the announcement explains: “Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) is a solution developed by Desert Control that harnesses the properties of natural minerals to enhance soil fertility, water retention, and crop productivity.”

Group CEO Ole Kristian Sivertsen added: "This achievement marks a significant milestone in our journey and opens a wider range of opportunities in the government sector for our licensed operator while reinforcing our commitment to delivering safe, effective, and sustainable solutions to farmers and growers in the UAE." An Olé from Ole there…

Finally, even fallen alt-meat star Beyond Meat (BYND) managed to get in on the act – shares tacked on 15% to close at US$17.04.  Enough for the market cap to breach the US$ 1 billion mark once more.  Still a far cry from the US$ 4 billion heights reached in 2019, but at least moving in the right direction. Shares up on BYND’s announcement: “BEYOND STEAK®, THE #1 NEW PLANT-BASED MEAT ITEM IN RETAIL, IS NOW AVAILABLE AT NEARLY 14,000 STORES NATIONWIDE FOLLOWING EXPANDED DISTRIBUTION”.

News covered by CNBC. In “Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Netflix, Roku, SunPower, Beyond Meat and more”, CNBC highlights how “The plant-based meat alternative added 2% Wednesday morning. The company said Tuesday that its steak product would expand to now be sold at about 14,000 stores across the U.S., including Whole Foods and Wegmans.” Hmm, is 2% enough of a rise to warrant a mention by CNBC?  Or was it the excessive use of capitals in the title of BYND’s press release that caught CNBC’s eye?  FOOD ON THE MOVE TO COMMISSION A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAPITALISING TITLES OF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INCREASED PRESS COVERAGE.