Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lyft from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Lyft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lyft from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Lyft from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.40.

Lyft Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $15.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.21, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Lyft has a one year low of $12.46 and a one year high of $25.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.09.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. Lyft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,615,970.88. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $28,799.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,092 shares in the company, valued at $414,065.92. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,196 shares of company stock valued at $992,371. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lyft by 13.7% in 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 increased its stake in Lyft by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 51,102 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 15,621 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lyft by 87.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,064,930 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $16,783,000 after purchasing an additional 497,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Lyft by 12.6% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 709,188 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $11,177,000 after purchasing an additional 79,634 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.