Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Trading 6.4% Higher – Here’s Why

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) shot up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.00. 8,999,978 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 15,033,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lyft from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Monday. Benchmark raised shares of Lyft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Lyft from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lyft has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.03.

Lyft Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 202.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.00 and a 200-day moving average of $13.81. 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 (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft 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 transaction of $30,348.48. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total transaction of $152,222.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 297,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,970,517.60. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,407 shares of company stock worth $203,778. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYFT. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Lyft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 355,864 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $4,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the period. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Lyft during the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Lyft by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 85,600 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 52,333 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lyft during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at $950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Company Profile

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.