Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Price Target to $18.00

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $18.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lyft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Lyft from $25.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Lyft from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Lyft from $23.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lyft currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.98.

Lyft Stock Performance

Shares of Lyft stock opened at $13.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 1.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. Lyft has a 52 week low of $9.66 and a 52 week high of $25.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lyft

In other news, CEO John David Risher bought 5,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.80 per share, with a total value of $99,594.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,802,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,685,460.80. This represents a 0.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $107,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 311,909 shares in the company, valued at $6,955,570.70. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 187,443 shares of company stock valued at $4,178,618 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lyft by 144.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 14,205,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lyft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,987,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Lyft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,472,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lyft by 415.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,714,935 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $58,547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993,807 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lyft by 479.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,580,564 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $78,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,266 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lyft News Summary

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.