Royal Bank Of Canada Lowers Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Price Target to $18.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Lyft from $22 to $18 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 25.7% upside from the current share price.
• Lyft's Q1 report included a notable EPS miss ($0.04 vs. $0.30 expected) even as revenue rose about 17% to $1.65 billion, and management signaled stronger bookings and margin expansion ahead.
• The board approved a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to ~15.1% of shares) while insiders have been selling stock recently, presenting mixed signals on insider conviction and valuation.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $22.00 to $18.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the ride-sharing company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective points to a potential upside of 25.70% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lyft from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lyft from $26.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $17.00 price objective on Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.28.

Lyft Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:LYFT traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.32. 17,820,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,244,833. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.84. 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 has a twelve month low of $12.46 and a twelve month high of $25.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.23.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 45.03% and a negative return on equity of 3.79%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lyft will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to reacquire up to 15.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $314,691.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 696,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,268,105. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.89, for a total value of $29,071.77. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $447,049.65. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,699 shares of company stock valued at $771,756. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

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

Key Lyft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management guides to strong forward growth — ~20% gross bookings growth and >30% adjusted EBITDA expansion as it closes the Gett U.K. deal, signaling potential margin upside from international scale. Lyft expects ~20% gross bookings growth
• Positive Sentiment: Top-line beat and resilient bookings: Q1 revenue rose to $1.65B (+~14% Y/Y) and gross bookings climbed despite winter storms; management said Q2 bookings and core profit outlook are stronger than Street expectations. Lyft signals strong bookings after winter storms
• Neutral Sentiment: Market view on valuation: a Seeking Alpha piece flags Lyft as one of the cheapest ride‑hailing stocks on SA’s valuation grades — may attract value-oriented buyers if growth execution continues. Lyft emerges as one of the cheapest ride hailing stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships / loyalty: United Mileage redemption for Lyft rides expands distribution and customer acquisition channels, but the program’s near-term revenue impact is modest. United Flyers Now Can Redeem Their Miles For Lyft Rides
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and weaker profitability signal: Lyft reported GAAP EPS of $0.04 (well below consensus ~ $0.30), and the company disclosed lower cash balances — creating near-term confidence and liquidity questions for some investors. LYFT Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Negative Sentiment: Demand softness: total rides and other demand metrics came in light vs. expectations, prompting an intraday pullback after an initial pop — raises questions about cadence of rider recovery. Lyft Stock Fall on Earnings Report as Total Rides Disappoint
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and legal risk: Bank of America reiterated a Sell rating (PT $17) citing competitive and margin pressures, and a separate lawsuit (assault claims) introduces potential legal exposure. Lyft: Sell Rating Reiterated Motley Rice files suit vs. Lyft

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.