Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lyft from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Lyft from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lyft from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.55.

Lyft Trading Down 0.5 %

LYFT stock opened at $10.84 on Thursday. Lyft has a 52 week low of $8.93 and a 52 week high of $19.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 180.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.13.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Lyft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 911,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. This trade represents a 0.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total value of $152,222.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 297,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,970,517.60. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock worth $203,778 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lyft by 1,368.2% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 39,641 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 36,941 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 146,038 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 60,438 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyft during the 1st quarter worth $121,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the first quarter valued at $6,651,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 81.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Company Profile

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.