Lyft Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Key Points

• Lyft saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with 39,055 call options traded, about 23% above the typical volume of 31,818.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: several recently cut price targets, and Lyft’s current consensus rating is Hold with a consensus target of $19.13.
• The stock rose 3.1% to $13.37, while the company also reported a recent earnings miss and announced a $1 billion share repurchase plan earlier this year.

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 39,055 call options on the company. This is an increase of 23% compared to the typical volume of 31,818 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LYFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Lyft from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Lyft from $20.00 to $15.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lyft presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.13.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $354,915.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 916,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,740,330. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.89, for a total value of $29,071.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at $447,049.65. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,699 shares of company stock valued at $771,756 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lyft by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,783,363 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $567,492,000 after buying an additional 1,773,438 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lyft by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,873,232 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $191,245,000 after buying an additional 1,320,938 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lyft by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,478 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $89,360,000 after buying an additional 2,467,010 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lyft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,987,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Lyft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Lyft Stock Up 3.1%

LYFT stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $13.37. 19,845,754 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,425,598. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Lyft has a fifty-two week low of $12.46 and a fifty-two week high of $25.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $13.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.94.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 43.82% and a negative return on equity of 2.09%. Lyft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lyft declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to buy up to 15.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lyft Company Profile

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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