Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Stock

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LYFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Lyft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research lowered Lyft from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research raised shares of Lyft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.43.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of LYFT stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.44. 4,030,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,242,075. Lyft has a 52-week low of $12.46 and a 52-week high of $25.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 2.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.58 and a 200 day moving average of $14.65.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Lyft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lyft will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lyft

In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,460 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $75,129.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 335,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,615,970.88. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $28,799.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,065.92. This represents a 6.50% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,535 shares of company stock worth $637,456. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lyft in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Boreal Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lyft during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Lyft by 1,851.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,635 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Lyft by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,174 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.