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

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. 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. DA Davidson set a $22.00 price target on shares of Lyft in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lyft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.98.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of LYFT stock opened at $13.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Lyft has a 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $25.54. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.91, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.93.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John David Risher acquired 5,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.80 per share, with a total value of $99,594.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,802,296 shares in the company, valued at $233,685,460.80. The trade was a 0.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Prashant Aggarwal sold 96,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction of $2,160,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 874,369 shares in the company, valued at $19,498,428.70. This represents a 9.98% 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 three months. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lyft by 144.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,009,925 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $378,396,000 after purchasing an additional 14,205,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $109,987,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter worth about $108,472,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 415.2% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,714,935 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $58,547,000 after buying an additional 2,993,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 479.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,580,564 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $78,808,000 after buying an additional 2,962,266 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lyft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board-authorized $1.0 billion share repurchase (up to ~15% of float) signals management believes the stock is undervalued — supportive for EPS/share if executed. Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 initiatives (partnerships and rewards) are bringing higher‑value riders and grew business-travel activations ~26% YoY — evidence of revenue mix improvement. Partnerships Drive Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/short‑term view: some traders see LYFT as oversold and testing support, which could prompt a bounce if volume subsides. Technical Bottom View
• Neutral Sentiment: Management defended consumer demand on the call and highlighted profitable growth signals — mixed messaging as guidance tempers optimism. Earnings Call Takeaways
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and softer forward profitability/ride-growth outlook triggered a heavy selloff and analyst concern that Lyft’s 2027 targets are “execution‑heavy.” This is the principal driver of today’s weakness. Analyst Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple banks trimmed price targets and reiterated cautious/hold views after the print — increases near‑term downside risk from analyst sentiment and limits near‑term buying. Price Target Cuts & Sales Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/safety headlines after separate fatal attacks on drivers in Cleveland add operational and PR risk that can pressure user/driver sentiment, though this is more of a reputational than a near‑term financial issue. Safety Incidents

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.