Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $21.00 price target on the ride-sharing company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on LYFT. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Lyft from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.22.

Lyft Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of LYFT opened at $14.01 on Tuesday. Lyft has a 12 month low of $8.93 and a 12 month high of $20.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $13.77 and its 200-day moving average is $13.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of -87.56, a P/E/G 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 (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a negative return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 1.19%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to buy up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 3.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its stake in Lyft by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 167,718 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 57,694 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Lyft in the fourth quarter valued at $198,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lyft by 722.6% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 211,161 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 185,490 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lyft by 865.3% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 334,629 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 299,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Lyft by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,593,120 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $20,551,000 after purchasing an additional 542,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

About Lyft

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.