Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Up 6.4% – Here’s What Happened

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT)’s share price was up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.00. Approximately 8,999,978 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 15,033,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LYFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lyft from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Lyft from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.03.

Lyft Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 208.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.39%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Lyft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lyft

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyft in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lyft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

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.