Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-two have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.6613.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LYFT shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm set a $22.00 price objective on Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Lyft from $27.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Lyft from $20.00 to $15.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Lyft Trading Down 1.8%

LYFT opened at $13.84 on Friday. Lyft has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $25.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 2.03, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.01.

Lyft declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the ride-sharing company to repurchase up to 15.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lyft news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $314,691.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 696,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,268,105. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John David Risher bought 5,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.80 per share, with a total value of $99,594.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,802,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,685,460.80. This trade represents a 0.04% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 209,638 shares of company stock worth $4,463,623. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 352.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 48,530 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 37,810 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lyft by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,724,969 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $52,783,000 after acquiring an additional 233,179 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Lyft by 324.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 121,857 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 93,146 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Lyft by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 274,844 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 26,664 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in Lyft during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. 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: Acquisition/growth signal — coverage highlights Lyft’s deal to buy FreeNow, which could expand its geographic footprint and address demand-supply scale benefits (a potential long-term positive for revenue and market reach). Lyft Union Push And FreeNow Deal Reshape Growth And Valuation Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Local demand promotion — a Houston-area law firm arranged discounted Lyft rides for Rodeo attendees, a small but positive user-acquisition/PR event that can boost local trips. Houston-area law firm to offer discounted Lyft rides from Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Positive Sentiment: Investor visibility — Lyft presented at Bernstein’s Tech, Media & Telecom forum (transcript published), which helps communicate strategy to institutional investors and can support sentiment if guidance or unit economics look favorable. Lyft Presents at Bernstein Insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stances mixed — JPMorgan reaffirmed a Hold with a $19 target while other shops have trimmed targets; varied price targets leave analyst-driven catalyst limited near term. Where is Lyft, Inc. (LYFT) Headed According to the Street?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and floor debate — options-flow analysis and commentary (Benzinga/Forbes) show traders positioning around a potential bottom; useful for short-term volatility but ambiguous for fundamentals. What the Options Market Tells Us About Lyft
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — an insider sold ~23,661 shares (~$314.7k at ~$13.30), trimming their position; while not a huge block, insider sales can weigh on sentiment when the stock is already weak. SEC Form 4 — Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Labor/headcount pressure — union activity in California and Seattle protests urging Uber/Lyft to stop adding drivers highlight regulatory and labor risks that could raise costs or constrain growth tactics. WA union for Uber, Lyft drivers wants companies to stop hiring
• Negative Sentiment: Safety/PR hit — a reported incident during a ride (Utah passenger safety story) can pressure brand perception and potentially increase compliance/safety costs. Utah woman orders food delivery during a Lyft ride—unaware her driver was plotting something chilling

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.