Lyft Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 83,415 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 80% compared to the typical volume of 46,249 call options.

Lyft Stock Performance

LYFT stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.57. 14,172,272 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,316,063. Lyft has a 52-week low of $8.93 and a 52-week high of $19.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.94 and its 200 day moving average is $13.82. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.83, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.39%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

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

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Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 911,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,417,263.44. The trade was a 0.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total value of $152,222.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 297,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,970,517.60. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,407 shares of company stock worth $203,778 in the last three months. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lyft by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,493 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lyft by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lyft by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 16,023 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Lyft by 2.5% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,203 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 41,539 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.03.

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.