Lyft Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 36,754 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 25% compared to the average volume of 29,367 put options.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LYFT traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.47. 3,965,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,838,017. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.12, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.82. Lyft has a one year low of $12.46 and a one year high of $25.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.26). Lyft had a net margin of 43.82% and a negative return on equity of 2.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LYFT. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup started coverage on Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lyft from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $75,129.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 335,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,615,970.88. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $28,799.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,065.92. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 69,196 shares of company stock worth $992,371 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lyft by 13.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,213 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Lyft by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 51,102 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 15,621 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Lyft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $470,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Lyft by 87.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,064,930 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $16,783,000 after buying an additional 497,118 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Lyft by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 709,188 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $11,177,000 after buying an additional 79,634 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a peer-to-peer ridesharing platform that connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application. Since its founding in 2012, the company has expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing to include bike and electric scooter rentals, while also offering rental cars and public transit options in select markets. Lyft’s platform uses GPS mapping and dynamic pricing algorithms to optimize driver-passenger matches and route efficiency.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Lyft primarily serves urban and suburban markets across the United States and Canada.