Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 398,880 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock after buying an additional 49,138 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.10% of Lyft worth $5,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lyft by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,408,466 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $121,369,000 after buying an additional 2,302,248 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,681,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Lyft by 354.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 266,185 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 207,672 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lyft by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 382,463 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 142,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at $1,034,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Lyft Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ LYFT traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.05. The stock had a trading volume of 16,823,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,455,364. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 217.42, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.60. Lyft, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.93 and a twelve month high of $20.82.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Lyft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 8.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lyft

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total transaction of $188,352.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 314,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,424,987. This represents a 3.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Lyft from $16.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lyft from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Lyft from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lyft presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.22.

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.