Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Raised to "Buy" at Roth Capital

Key Points

• Lyft has been upgraded to a "buy" rating by Roth Capital, now with a price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.37% from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade, Lyft reported earnings of $0.10 per share, missing analyst estimates of $0.27, with revenue showing a year-over-year increase of 10.6%.
• Currently, 83.07% of Lyft’s stock is held by institutional investors, reflecting a strong interest in the company among hedge funds and financial institutions.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Roth Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $19.00 price target on the ride-sharing company's stock. Roth Capital's price target suggests a potential upside of 35.37% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lyft from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Lyft from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Lyft from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.05.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of LYFT opened at $14.04 on Thursday. Lyft has a one year low of $8.93 and a one year high of $19.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.57, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 0.95% and a return on equity of 11.28%. Lyft's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lyft

In other Lyft news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.80, for a total value of $38,299.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 879,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,896,068.40. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John David Risher purchased 6,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.29 per share, with a total value of $99,966.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,791,340 shares in the company, valued at $180,289,588.60. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Lyft by 162.6% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,943 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the second quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lyft by 81.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Lyft by 1,242.2% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 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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