Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Lyft Call Options (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 83,415 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 80% compared to the typical volume of 46,249 call options.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of LYFT stock opened at $12.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lyft has a 12-month low of $8.93 and a 12-month high of $20.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.02 and a 200-day moving average of $13.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 208.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted 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 net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 911,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. The trade was a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total transaction of $152,222.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 297,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,970,517.60. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,407 shares of company stock valued at $203,778 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYFT. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Lyft in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.03.

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.