Lyft’s (LYFT) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lyft from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Lyft from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.45.

Lyft Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of LYFT opened at $11.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.00, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.13. Lyft has a 12 month low of $8.93 and a 12 month high of $19.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.66. 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 (NASDAQ:LYFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. Analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lyft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lyft by 3.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Lyft by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 221,906 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 16,911 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lyft by 37.2% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 45,976 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,462 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Lyft by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 382,463 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 142,880 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.