Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Price Target to $21.00

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lyft from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down previously from $23.00) on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Lyft from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lyft has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.22.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $13.43 on Wednesday. Lyft has a one year low of $8.93 and a one year high of $20.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.94, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.52.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.58%. Research analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lyft declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $188,352.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 314,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,424,987. This trade represents a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the third quarter valued at approximately $90,604,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Lyft by 282.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,623,227 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $111,240,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365,727 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth $49,599,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 84.8% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 6,186,000 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $78,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,775,478 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $87,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240,478 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.