Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Lyft from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Lyft from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair lowered Lyft to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lyft presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.40.

Lyft Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Lyft stock opened at $15.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.09. Lyft has a 1 year low of $12.46 and a 1 year high of $25.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.80.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 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 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lyft news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,460 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $75,129.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 335,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,615,970.88. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 11,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $172,365.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 853,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,805,965. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,196 shares of company stock valued at $992,371. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Lyft by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,174 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lyft in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Lyft by 1,851.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,635 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.