Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Up 9.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Lyft's stock surged by 9.3% during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching a price of $20.35 after previously closing at $18.62.
• Multiple analysts have updated their ratings for Lyft; Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $20.50, while TD Cowen upgraded its rating to buy with a target of $21.00.
• The company reported disappointing quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.10 against an expected $0.27, and revenue of $1.59 billion, slightly below estimates.

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) shares rose 9.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.05 and last traded at $20.35. Approximately 17,114,288 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 18,415,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LYFT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Lyft in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.30.

Lyft Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 2.33.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.17). Lyft had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 1.51%.The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erin Brewer sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.24, for a total value of $258,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 525,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,064,085.16. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 14,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $292,120.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,252,686 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lyft by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,689 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Maxi Investments CY Ltd increased its stake in Lyft by 320.4% during the 1st quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd now owns 945,933 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $11,228,000 after buying an additional 720,933 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Lyft during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,191,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Lyft by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 104,314 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 29,912 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Lyft by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 24,849,205 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $294,978,000 after buying an additional 5,178,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Lyft Company Profile

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.