Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Earns “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Benchmark upgraded Lyft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Lyft in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lyft from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.45.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $11.16 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $8.93 and a 12 month high of $19.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.65.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its 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 return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lyft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 8.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm’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 value of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. This trade represents a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of Lyft 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 transaction, the director now owns 297,640 shares in the company, valued at $3,970,517.60. This represents a 3.69 % 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYFT. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lyft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lyft during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 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.