Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Trading 6.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LYFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lyft from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lyft from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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-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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.03.

Lyft Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.00 and a 200 day moving average of $13.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. 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 EPS 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, analysts expect that Lyft, Inc. 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 repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lyft

In other news, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total value of $152,222.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 297,640 shares in the company, valued at $3,970,517.60. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $30,348.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,417,263.44. The trade was a 0.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,407 shares of company stock valued at $203,778 in the last 90 days. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYFT. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Lyft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lyft in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

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.