Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Upgraded by Scotiabank to Hold Rating

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

LYFT has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on Lyft in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Lyft from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.69.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $14.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.17, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. Lyft has a one year low of $12.46 and a one year high of $25.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.68.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lyft had a negative return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 42.32%.The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, Director Janey Whiteside sold 5,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.68, for a total transaction of $96,886.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,073,246.72. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lindsay Llewellyn sold 13,204 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.64, for a total transaction of $219,714.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 781,152 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,369.28. This trade represents a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,020 shares of company stock worth $1,834,809. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYFT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lyft by 7.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,783,363 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $567,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,438 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Lyft by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,873,232 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $191,245,000 after buying an additional 1,320,938 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in Lyft by 51.6% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 7,662,027 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $101,905,000 after buying an additional 2,607,417 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Lyft by 58.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,478 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $89,360,000 after buying an additional 2,467,010 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Lyft by 1,333.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,441,315 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $94,108,000 after buying an additional 5,992,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo partnership expands Lyft’s autonomous-vehicle opportunity. Waymo rides are now available through the Lyft app in Nashville, giving Lyft a role in distributing autonomous rides while potentially strengthening its long-term platform strategy. Waymo Rides Now Available on the Lyft App in Nashville
• Positive Sentiment: Lyft reaffirmed its third-quarter guidance. The company maintained its outlook for gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, indicating that the CFO change was not accompanied by a reduction in operating expectations. Lyft Names New CFO, Reaffirms Q3 2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Brous will become CFO on September 28. Current CFO Erin Brewer is retiring from the role later this month and will remain an adviser through December 15. Brous is an internal promotion with extensive Lyft experience, which supports continuity but still creates near-term leadership uncertainty. Lyft Insider to Take CFO Seat Amid Robotaxi Push
• Neutral Sentiment: New analyst coverage of Lyft, Uber and DoorDash puts the companies in direct comparison, but the available report does not identify a clear Lyft-specific catalyst. Uber, DoorDash, or Lyft: Which Company Is Scotiabank Analyst Favoring?
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO transition overshadowed the reaffirmed outlook. Investors appear concerned about changing financial leadership, particularly alongside reports that insiders have sold shares without any reported purchases in the past six months. Lyft Slides as CFO Transition Overshadows Reaffirmed Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: A report that a Lyft driver is wanted in connection with the alleged abduction of two women in Virginia presents a potential reputational and safety concern, although the incident involves an individual driver rather than a disclosed company policy change. Lyft Driver Wanted for Abducting Two Women in Virginia

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.