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

Shares of 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 changing hands.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Lyft from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Lyft in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Lyft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lyft from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Kristin Sverchek sold 5,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $85,163.40. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 633,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,521,929. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President Kristin Sverchek sold 5,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $85,163.40. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 633,950 shares in the company, valued at $9,521,929. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 193,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $3,871,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 932,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,688,181.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,526 shares of company stock valued at $5,358,031 in the last three months. 3.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lyft by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in Lyft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 27,633 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,556 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lyft by 277.8% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lyft by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.11 and a beta of 2.05.

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