Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Receives Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LYFT. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lyft from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.03.

Lyft Stock Performance

LYFT opened at $12.22 on Monday. Lyft has a 1-year low of $8.93 and a 1-year high of $20.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 203.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.81. 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 (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. Research analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,417,263.44. The trade was a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock worth $203,778. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LYFT. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lyft by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,443 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 2,476 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Lyft during the third quarter valued at $131,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Lyft in the third quarter valued at about $1,057,000. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Lyft by 23.7% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 263,509 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $3,360,000 after purchasing an additional 50,470 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth about $140,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.