Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LYFT. Mizuho decreased their target price on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lyft from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lyft from $26.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Lyft from $25.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.55.

Lyft Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of Lyft stock opened at $14.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.15, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.90. Lyft has a 12-month low of $10.60 and a 12-month high of $25.54.

Lyft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 15.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $314,691.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 696,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,268,105. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.89, for a total value of $29,071.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,049.65. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 31,038 shares of company stock valued at $416,841 over the last ninety days. 3.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lyft by 7.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,783,363 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $567,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,438 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Lyft by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,873,232 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $191,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,938 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lyft in the fourth quarter worth $109,987,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Lyft in the fourth quarter worth $108,472,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in Lyft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 5,054,610 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $97,908,000 after purchasing an additional 30,048 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a peer-to-peer ridesharing platform that connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application. Since its founding in 2012, the company has expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing to include bike and electric scooter rentals, while also offering rental cars and public transit options in select markets. Lyft’s platform uses GPS mapping and dynamic pricing algorithms to optimize driver-passenger matches and route efficiency.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Lyft primarily serves urban and suburban markets across the United States and Canada.