Lyft’s (LYFT) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $21.00 target price on the ride-sharing company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Lyft from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Lyft from $16.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.13.

Lyft Trading Up 0.9 %

LYFT opened at $12.03 on Monday. Lyft has a one year low of $8.93 and a one year high of $20.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 200.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $13.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. This trade represents a 0.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock valued at $203,778. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 52,333 shares during the period. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $950,000. American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the fourth quarter worth about $2,395,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.