Lyft Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 36,754 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 25% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,367 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lyft from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $14.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lyft from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lyft from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $75,129.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 335,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,615,970.88. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Erin Brewer sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.59, for a total value of $203,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 705,979 shares in the company, valued at $9,594,254.61. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 69,196 shares of company stock worth $992,371 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYFT. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Lyft by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,213 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Lyft by 44.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 51,102 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 15,621 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lyft in the second quarter valued at $470,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lyft by 87.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,064,930 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $16,783,000 after purchasing an additional 497,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Lyft by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 709,188 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $11,177,000 after purchasing an additional 79,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Price Performance

LYFT opened at $14.27 on Friday. Lyft has a 52-week low of $12.46 and a 52-week high of $25.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.41. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 43.82% and a negative return on equity of 2.09%. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lyft will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lyft benefited from a broader rally in digital-platform stocks after strong Prime Day sales data and lower Treasury yields improved investor sentiment. Why Is Lyft (LYFT) Stock Rocketing Higher Today
• Positive Sentiment: Lyft introduced new multi-sensor safety standards for autonomous vehicles, which could strengthen its positioning with regulators and AV partners over the long term. Lyft (LYFT) Sets New Multi Sensor Safety Rules For Autonomous Vehicles
• Positive Sentiment: A Boston pilot program allowing taxi drivers to accept Lyft ride requests could modestly expand supply and improve service availability in that market. Boston taxi drivers can now accept Uber, Lyft ride requests under terms of new pilot program, city says
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed elevated put buying in Lyft, suggesting some traders are hedging or betting on downside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports about Lyft being under congressional pressure over alleged AI price gouging could create headline risk, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Rideshare giants Lyft and Uber facing congressional pressure over alleged AI price gouging
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market coverage noted Lyft underperformed the broader market in the last session, reflecting continued investor caution around the shares. Lyft (LYFT) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market: Key Insights

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT) operates a peer-to-peer ridesharing platform that connects passengers with drivers through a mobile application. Since its founding in 2012, the company has expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing to include bike and electric scooter rentals, while also offering rental cars and public transit options in select markets. Lyft’s platform uses GPS mapping and dynamic pricing algorithms to optimize driver-passenger matches and route efficiency.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Lyft primarily serves urban and suburban markets across the United States and Canada.