Vista Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 211,540 Lyft, Inc. $LYFT

Key Points

• Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased 211,540 shares of Lyft in Q4, a new position valued at about $4.10 million that represented roughly 0.05% of the company at quarter-end.
• Lyft’s board has authorized a $1.0 billion stock repurchase plan enabling buybacks of up to 15.1% of outstanding shares, signaling the board believes the stock may be undervalued.
• Several brokers have trimmed price targets recently, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of 'Hold' with an average price target of $19.55.

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 211,540 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock, valued at approximately $4,098,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Lyft at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lyft in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Lyft by 39.1% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,321 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Lyft during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft in the third quarter worth $55,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lyft news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $314,691.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 696,850 shares in the company, valued at $9,268,105. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $73,077.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 300,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,883.10. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,038 shares of company stock worth $416,841. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of LYFT stock opened at $13.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.92. Lyft, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.66 and a 12 month high of $25.54.

Lyft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 15.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Lyft from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Lyft from $21.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Lyft from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.55.

More Lyft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / bullish research highlights robotaxi and margin upside — Seeking Alpha argues Lyft’s improving free cash flow, international growth and partnerships (eg. Waymo launch in Nashville) make the stock attractive longer term; this supports a constructive thesis despite near‑term headwinds. Lyft: Huge Bottom Line Growth With Robotaxi Upside Make It Attractive
• Neutral Sentiment: Local marketing/promotions: Lyft is offering half‑off rides from Comerica Park for Tigers Opening Day — a small demand stimulus and brand visibility play but unlikely to move shares materially. Tigers Opening Day rides: Get half-off Lyft rides home from Comerica Park on Friday
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/PR items: Lyft’s board chair scheduled to speak at The College of Wooster — routine governance/visibility event with limited near‑term stock impact. Lyft's board chair to speak at The College of Wooster
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades / price‑target cuts: JPMorgan cut its price target to $17 (neutral) and Truist lowered its target to $15 (hold), signaling reduced near‑term confidence and adding downside pressure on the stock. Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Safety incident: Multiple reports that a Lyft driver in Winter Haven drove off with a toddler still in the vehicle have generated negative press and potential reputational/legal risk. Such incidents can increase regulatory and insurance scrutiny. Winter Haven Lyft trip ends in chaos as toddler is accidentally driven away
• Negative Sentiment: Driver pain from higher fuel costs: Coverage shows many rideshare drivers are considering quitting as gas rises — this can reduce driver supply, raise prices or compress margins if Lyft increases incentives. ‘I’m done’: Rideshare drivers on the brink of quitting over higher gas prices
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure: Lyft is pursuing limits of its liability shield in a Florida appeals court — ongoing litigation adds legal and regulatory uncertainty. Lyft Pushes Limits of Liability Shield in Florida Appeals Court
• Negative Sentiment: Crime-related incidents (driver carjacking reports) add to safety concerns for drivers and riders, potentially increasing costs (insurance, safety measures) and weighing on sentiment. 'I felt a gun in my ribs': Milwaukee Lyft driver carjacked by passengers

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc NASDAQ: LYFT operates a peer-to-peer ridesharing platform that connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application. Since its founding in 2012, the company has expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing to include bike and electric scooter rentals, while also offering rental cars and public transit options in select markets. Lyft's platform uses GPS mapping and dynamic pricing algorithms to optimize driver-passenger matches and route efficiency.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Lyft primarily serves urban and suburban markets across the United States and Canada.

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