Brokerages Set Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Price Target at $16.60

Shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-seven have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.60.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LYFT. Bank of America cut Lyft from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Lyft from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $30,348.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. The trade was a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total value of $152,222.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 297,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,970,517.60. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock worth $203,778. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 1.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 82,690 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth about $138,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Lyft by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,203 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lyft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,838,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Lyft by 87.0% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 260,374 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 121,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $10.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lyft has a 1 year low of $8.93 and a 1 year high of $19.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 181.33, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.13.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.39%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Lyft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the ride-sharing company to buy up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Lyft

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.