An announcement about the latest version of its plant-based sausage put some sizzle in the stock of Beyond Meat Inc. earlier this month, but the increase in price of the company’s shares was short-lived.

After rising 12% on June 13 to close at $13.94, the share price dropped by nearly 8% to close at $12.86 on June 16.

The price surge was tied to the company’s release on June 13 stating that the newest version of Beyond Sausage would be available in 15,000 retail outlets just in time for Fourth of July barbecues and the summer grilling season.

In addition to sausages, the company makes plant-based chicken, burgers, steak, ground beef and jerky.

Dariush Ajami, chief innovation officer at Beyond Meat, said the company was thrilled to introduce the latest version of Beyond Sausage.

“Our next-generation Beyond Sausage reflects our commitment to relentlessly innovate until our products are indistinguishable from animal meat in taste, texture and flavor while being more nutritious and sustainable,” he said.

Beyond Meat’s stock price has been fluctuating since the company announced its first-quarter earnings on May 10. Shares fell by 18% the following day to close at $10.20.

The company reported a net loss of $59 million (92 cents a share), compared to a net loss of $100.5 million ($1.58) in the same period of the previous year. Revenue dropped by nearly 16% from the first quarter of the prior year to $92 million.

During a conference call with analysts to discuss first-quarter earnings, both Ethan Brown, the founder and chief executive of Beyond Meat, and Lubi Kutua, the company’s chief financial officer, expressed confidence that the second half of the year would be better than the first. 

“We continue to target the achievement of positive free cash flow within the second half of 2023,” Kutua said during the call.

He added that the company’s guidance remains largely unchanged from the targets provided in February during its fourth-quarter earnings call.

For the full year, the company expects net revenues in the range of $375 million to $415 million, representing a 10% to 1% decrease from the $419 million in revenue brought in last year.

Overall, for the full year, Kutua expects revenue contributions for the first and second halves to be evenly distributed, with a slightly higher weighting toward the first half.

“This implies an acceleration in revenue growth in the second half of 2023, which we expect to be driven by continued distribution expansion of recently launched products in the U.S., including Beyond Steak, Beyond Chicken Nuggets, Beyond Popcorn Chicken, and Beyond Chicken Fillet, distribution expansion and contribution from new products in international markets, and the cycling of weaker year-ago comparisons,” Kutua added during the call.