Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its target on Lyft from $20.50 to $22.50 and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying about a 0.9% downside; the MarketBeat consensus target is roughly $22.73 with an average "Hold" rating (11 Buys, 24 Holds, 1 Sell).
• Lyft shares traded around $22.71 (down ~1.2%); the company missed quarterly EPS expectations ($0.13 vs. $0.30) and narrowly missed revenue estimates ($1.69B vs. $1.71B), while trading at a high P/E near 60 and a market cap of about $9.1B.
• Insiders sold roughly 22,650 shares (~$470k) last quarter and own about 3.07% of the stock, while hedge funds and other institutional investors hold about 83% of shares.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $20.50 to $22.50 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the ride-sharing company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential downside of 0.90% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LYFT. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Lyft from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wedbush upped their price target on Lyft from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lyft from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.73.

Lyft Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of LYFT stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.71. 5,184,553 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,546,611. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.94. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.99. Lyft has a 12 month low of $9.66 and a 12 month high of $25.54.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 18.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lyft will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 835,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,715,640. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 1,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $29,686.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $694,129.50. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,650 shares of company stock worth $470,140 over the last quarter. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted 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 valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lyft by 39.1% during 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 0.5% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 167,399 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lyft by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 35,372 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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