Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $18.00. The stock had previously closed at $16.60, but opened at $17.42. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Lyft shares last traded at $17.88, with a volume of 11,713,437 shares.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LYFT. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lyft from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lyft presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Kristin Sverchek sold 5,670 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $85,163.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 633,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,521,929. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Logan Green sold 11,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.69, for a total transaction of $186,193.23. Following the transaction, the director now owns 346,341 shares in the company, valued at $5,434,090.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Kristin Sverchek sold 5,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $85,163.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 633,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,521,929. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 280,526 shares of company stock worth $5,358,031. 3.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lyft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,687,000. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,069,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Lyft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,433,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lyft by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,457,522 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $331,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 126.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,937,357 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $29,041,000 after buying an additional 1,080,009 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lyft Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.11 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.58.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The ride-sharing company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.14. Lyft had a negative net margin of 7.73% and a negative return on equity of 54.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Analysts anticipate that Lyft, Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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.