Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $14.40, but opened at $17.78. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Lyft shares last traded at $18.74, with a volume of 20,496,783 shares traded.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Nomura raised shares of Lyft from a “reduce” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Lyft in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.13.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.32, for a total value of $27,439.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 929,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,523,502.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Logan Green sold 10,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.62, for a total value of $119,953.26. Following the sale, the director now owns 330,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,843,779.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.32, for a total transaction of $27,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 929,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,523,502.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,664 shares of company stock valued at $380,048 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Lyft by 2.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,443 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Lyft by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 100,615 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 12,252 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyft during the third quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft in the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Lyft by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 168,385 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.71 and its 200-day moving average is $13.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of -114.88 and a beta of 2.04.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Lyft had a negative return on equity of 8.57% and a negative net margin of 1.27%. The company’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lyft, Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Lyft Company Profile

Lyft, Inc operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips.