Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.39, but opened at $12.28. Lyft shares last traded at $13.24, with a volume of 28,757,998 shares trading hands.

The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.58%.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYFT has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark raised Lyft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Lyft from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Lyft from $10.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.50 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.31.

Insider Transactions at Lyft

In other news, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $188,352.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 314,492 shares in the company, valued at $5,424,987. The trade was a 3.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lyft by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,002,611 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $464,434,000 after acquiring an additional 984,907 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 0.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 18,052,879 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $230,174,000 after purchasing an additional 80,675 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lyft by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,408,466 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $121,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,248 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lyft by 27.2% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 8,114,166 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $103,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Lyft by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,491,590 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $82,768,000 after purchasing an additional 235,510 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lyft Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of -82.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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.