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

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on Lyft from $18 to $19 but kept a Hold rating, implying roughly a 19.8% downside from the stock's prior close; the analyst consensus is also a Hold with an average target of $22.62.
• Lyft's most recent quarter missed expectations, reporting $0.13 EPS vs. $0.30 expected and $1.69B revenue vs. $1.71B expected, though revenue was up 11.6% year-over-year.
• Shares traded at $23.70 (near the 12‑month high), giving Lyft a $9.63B market cap and a P/E of 62.36; CEO John David Risher bought 5,926 shares recently while insiders net sold ~74,427 shares in the past three months and institutional ownership is about 83%.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the ride-sharing company's stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's target price would suggest a potential downside of 19.82% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LYFT. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Lyft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lyft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lyft from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim raised Lyft to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.62.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of LYFT traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.70. 36,675,761 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,805,730. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.90. Lyft has a 12-month low of $9.66 and a 12-month high of $23.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 2.36.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 18.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John David Risher acquired 5,926 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $100,030.88. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 11,797,266 shares in the company, valued at $199,137,850.08. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 14,606 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $292,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 835,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,715,640. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,427 shares of company stock worth $1,252,686. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Lyft by 162.6% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,943 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lyft by 1,242.2% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lyft during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Lyft during the first quarter worth $35,000. 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.

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