Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Shares Up 7.6% - Should You Buy?

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) shares were up 7.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $13.90 and last traded at $13.79. Approximately 12,681,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 19,836,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LYFT shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Lyft from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lyft presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.22.

Lyft Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 211.00, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.16.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. Analysts expect that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 911,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,417,263.44. This represents a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Lyft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 398,880 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $5,146,000 after purchasing an additional 49,138 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lyft by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,408,466 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $121,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,248 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth $1,681,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Lyft by 354.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 266,185 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 207,672 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lyft by 7,536.2% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,854,823 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $23,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

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.