Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Lyft from a "hold" to a "strong sell", and several other firms have cut price targets; the stock's consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of $19.55.
• Lyft's board approved a $1.00 billion share repurchase, authorizing buybacks of up to 15.1% of outstanding shares, a move management says signals they view the stock as undervalued.
• Shares trade around $13.71 with a $5.46 billion market cap and a P/E of 2.01, inside a 52‑week range of $10.60–$25.54, reflecting a valuation materially below many analysts' targets.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LYFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Lyft from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Lyft from $27.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" 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 assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.55.

Lyft Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $13.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 2.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The company's 50-day moving average price is $13.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.92. Lyft has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $25.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Lyft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 15.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,268,105. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,284 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total transaction of $73,077.72. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 300,570 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,883.10. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,038 shares of company stock worth $416,841. 3.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,652 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,399 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,321 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,808 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,153 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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