Barclays Cuts Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Price Target to $20.00

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LYFT. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Lyft from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Lyft from $14.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.98.

Lyft Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $13.27 on Wednesday. Lyft has a twelve month low of $9.66 and a twelve month high of $25.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.00.

Lyft declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the ride-sharing company to buy up to 15.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lyft

In related news, Director David Lawee sold 6,578 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $148,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 104,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,355,573. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Prashant Aggarwal sold 96,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $2,160,870.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 874,369 shares in the company, valued at $19,498,428.70. The trade was a 9.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 187,443 shares of company stock valued at $4,178,618 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 144.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,009,925 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $378,396,000 after buying an additional 14,205,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at $109,987,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth $108,472,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lyft by 415.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,714,935 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $58,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Lyft by 479.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,580,564 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $78,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,266 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company guided to up to ~20% gross bookings growth for Q1 and reported record active riders and a 37% jump in EBITDA, suggesting improving operating leverage despite a headline loss. Zacks: Lyft Earnings & Revenues Fall Short
• Positive Sentiment: Company authorized a material share‑buyback (reported at ~$1.0B), which can support the stock and is a common reason for short‑term upward moves after a sell‑off. American Banking News: Lyft to Repurchase $1.00B
• Positive Sentiment: Value investors/analysts argue the post‑earnings drop is overdone — highlighting cheap multiples (low P/E, low P/S) and suggesting the share price presents an entry point. Seeking Alpha: Lyft’s Earnings Crash Is Overdone
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical note: some traders flag LYFT as oversold and sitting near support, which can trigger short‑term bounces but is not fundamentally decisive. Benzinga: Stock Of The Day
• Neutral Sentiment: Management publicly pushed back as the stock tumbled; CEO commentary may be intended to calm investors but hasn’t removed uncertainty. MSN: Lyft CEO Responds
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings and revenue miss triggered a large sell‑off — investors punished weaker-than-expected top‑line growth and an operating loss despite bookings strength, causing steep recent volatility. Zacks: Earnings & Revenues Fall Short
• Negative Sentiment: Market concern over accounting and “masked” weak growth was highlighted in coverage that tied accounting treatment to the stock’s 16% crash, raising investor skepticism. Yahoo Finance: Accounting Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut ratings/targets (e.g., Mizuho lowered its target and set a neutral rating) and at least one notable downgrade spurred further downside pressure. Benzinga: Mizuho Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing safety incidents, violent assaults on drivers/riders and litigation (attempted kidnapping claims, murder/shootings, and a lawsuit alleging a passenger was taken to an attacker) raise regulatory, reputational and legal risk that can hurt demand and increase costs. AOL: Driver Murder Yahoo: Kidnapping Allegation Detroit News: Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/regulatory risk: a new NYC ride app claims lower fares vs. Uber/Lyft but the city says the app is operating illegally — highlights pricing pressure and regulatory complexity in core markets. Yahoo: NYC Ride App vs. Lyft

Lyft Company Profile

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.