Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $15.50. The stock had previously closed at $16.85, but opened at $14.22. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Lyft shares last traded at $14.2170, with a volume of 22,311,031 shares.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lyft from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Lyft from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zephirin Group upped their price target on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Arete Research set a $20.00 target price on shares of Lyft and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lyft

In other news, Director Prashant Aggarwal sold 96,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction of $2,160,870.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 874,369 shares in the company, valued at $19,498,428.70. The trade was a 9.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Lawee sold 6,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $148,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 104,460 shares in the company, valued at $2,355,573. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 187,443 shares of company stock valued at $4,178,618 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes $1.0 billion share buyback (up to ~15% of shares) — a capital return signal that the company sees its stock as undervalued and supports EPS. RTT News: Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and rewards are driving higher‑value riders and activations (25%+ of rides tied to partners; growth in business travel rewards), which can boost take‑rate and monetization if sustained. PYMNTS: Rewards & Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings call framed Lyft’s recovery as moving toward “profitable growth,” with management pointing to transformational 2026 initiatives (AV deployments) that could support margins longer term. TipRanks: Earnings Call Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Lyft is launching teen accounts in select U.S. cities — expands TAM and user acquisition, but monetization/take rates for this cohort are uncertain. WABE: Teen Accounts
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO defended results on media calls (saying consumer demand shows “no softness”), which may reassure some investors but hasn’t yet outweighed the revenue/guide concerns. CNBC: CEO Comments
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and Lyft issued softer near‑term profitability guidance; investors reacted negatively to slower ride growth and an unexpected operating loss measure. Business Insider: Q4 Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts trimmed price targets and flagged the 2027 profitability plan as “execution‑heavy,” raising concern that slowing ride growth and competitive pressure from Uber could limit upside. Benzinga: Analyst Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Two fatal shootings of Lyft drivers in Cleveland within ~36 hours raise safety, regulatory and reputational risks that could pressure usage or increase costs (insurance, safety programs). News5Cleveland: Driver Shootings

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,652 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Lyft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,399 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lyft by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,321 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,808 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lyft by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,153 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lyft Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.05, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.88 and its 200-day moving average is $19.05.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 15.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lyft Company Profile

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.