Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Given Hold Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports.

LYFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Lyft from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.03.

Lyft Stock Performance

LYFT stock opened at $11.98 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lyft has a 12-month low of $8.93 and a 12-month high of $20.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 199.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15.

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

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to reacquire up to 8.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lyft

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 297,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,970,517.60. This trade represents a 3.69 % 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. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 911,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,417,263.44. This represents a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock valued at $203,778. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 355,864 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $4,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 157.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 85,600 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 52,333 shares during the period. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at $950,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.