TM Editors' Note: This article discusses penny stocks and/or nano/microcaps. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.

The Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index tracks 10 stocks in the fledgling plant-based fake meat, dairy, eggs, and seafood sector. It was -2% in May but held steady (+0.2%) during the first two weeks of June and is now -22.4% YTD. 

According to eResearch Corporation, (the new parent company of munKNEE.com),

• about 9.7 million Americans now follow a plant-based diet up from just 290,000 in 2004,
• year-over-year sales are growing by 11.4% p.a.,
• the market sector should be worth $74.2 billion in the next seven years of which the plant-based meat market, specifically, will be worth $35.4 billion by 2027, and that
• online grocery sales of vegan products are growing 5x faster than other product categories, generating the highest growth in the consumer goods sector.

Below is the stock price performance of each Group for the first two weeks of June (and YTD in brackets) with the major advancers and decliners in each Group presented in descending order:

Group #1:

Group 1 consists of 5 nano-cap stocks with market capitalizations ranging from $11M to $43M and average just $20M:

1. Plant & Company Brands (VGANF) advanced by 66.6% during the first two weeks of June (-26.9% YTD) to $0.30/share during the first two weeks of June
2. Eat Beyond Global (EATBF) advanced by 22.2% (-47.3% YTD) to $3.39/share during the same period
3. Plant Fuel Life (FUEL) was unchanged in price (_231.2% YTD) at C$0.33/share
4. Modern Plant Based Foods (MDRNF) declined by 2.8% (-55.9% YTD) to $1.41/share
5. Tofutti Brands (TOFB) declined by 2.9% (+85.2% YTD) to $3.39/share

The average performance of the 5 stocks in Group 1 during the first two weeks of June was: +2.6% (+13.1 YTD).

Group #2:

Group 2 consists of 5 micro-cap stocks with market capitalizations ranging from $176M to $546M and an average $365M:

1. Else Nutrition (BABYF) advanced by 15.0% during the first two weeks of June (-32.3% YTD) to $2.14/share
2. Guru Organic (CSE: GURU)(GUROF) advanced by 9.1% (-15.9% YTD) to C$17.00/share
3. Tattooed Chef (TTCF) advanced by 4.4% (-2.9% YTD) to $22.22/share
4. Laird Superfood (LSF) declined 2.5% (-34.2% YTD) to $31.85/share
5. The Very Good Food Company (VRYYF) declined 2.7% (-27.3% YTD) to $3.55/share

The average performance of the 5 stocks in Group 2 during the first two weeks of June was -0.1% (-23.1% YTD).

Summary: The Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index has advanced +0.2% so far in June and is now  -22.4% YTD.

Beyond Meat (BYND) is not included in the Index given its large market capitalization ($9.2B) and high share price ($149.42/share) which would mask the performance of the other plant-based food stocks in the sector. That being said, however, it was +2.8% during the first two weeks of June and is +6.8% YTD.

Please note: The 10 pure-play stocks in the munKNEE Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index are just that, pure, and focused almost exclusively on the research, development, sales, distribution, and marketing of vegan food products and, as such, the Index reflects the true health of the plant-based food sector in the U.S. and Canada