The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Stock Price

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.52% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LYFT. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Lyft from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lyft from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.42.

Lyft Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of LYFT traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.05. 7,240,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,671,068. The company has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Lyft has a 12-month low of $9.66 and a 12-month high of $23.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.74.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.17). Lyft had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Lyft’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In other news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 14,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $292,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 835,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,715,640. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John David Risher purchased 5,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $100,030.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,797,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,137,850.08. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 74,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,252,686 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Lyft by 162.6% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,943 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Lyft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lyft by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Lyft by 1,242.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Lyft in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

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.