Lyft Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 73,207 call options on the company. This is an increase of 81% compared to the average daily volume of 40,436 call options.

Lyft Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LYFT traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.50. The stock had a trading volume of 13,438,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,965,721. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.38, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 2.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.42. Lyft has a fifty-two week low of $8.93 and a fifty-two week high of $20.82.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.09. Lyft had a negative return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 1.19%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Lyft from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Lyft from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Lyft from $16.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.77.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 4,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.76, for a total transaction of $75,337.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 755,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,423,842.72. This represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total transaction of $188,352.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 314,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,424,987. This represents a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,242 shares of company stock worth $427,330. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lyft by 37.2% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 45,976 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,462 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lyft by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 221,906 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 16,911 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Lyft by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lyft in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Lyft by 87.0% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 260,374 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 121,142 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.