UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Stock Price

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price objective raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock. UBS Group‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.30% from the stock’s previous close.

LYFT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Lyft from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Lyft in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Lyft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.23.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of Lyft stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.62. 10,644,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,659,252. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Lyft has a 12-month low of $12.46 and a 12-month high of $25.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.42, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.95.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). Lyft had a negative return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 42.32%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Lyft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erin Brewer sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.64, for a total transaction of $219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 837,303 shares in the company, valued at $12,258,115.92. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Stephen Hope sold 5,982 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $103,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,201,549.16. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 75,806 shares of company stock worth $1,266,066 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYFT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 250.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,246,519 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $56,479,000 after buying an additional 3,033,333 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in Lyft by 51.6% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 7,662,027 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $101,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,417 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lyft in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lyft by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,478 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $89,360,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lyft by 62.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,189,313 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $42,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Company Profile

Lyft, Inc is a technology company that operates a transportation network platform in the United States and Canada. Its platform connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application and website, primarily offering on-demand rides in private vehicles, taxis and other transportation options.

The company also provides access to bicycles and scooters in select markets, as well as vehicle rentals and transportation solutions for businesses, healthcare organizations and other institutions.