Leonteq Securities AG Takes $1.20 Million Position in Lyft, Inc. $LYFT

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 61,837 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,198,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lyft by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 594,800 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $13,092,000 after buying an additional 241,250 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,080,000. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Lyft by 4,527.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 440,405 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $8,531,000 after buying an additional 430,888 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Lyft by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 426,314 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $9,029,000 after purchasing an additional 56,117 shares during the period. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Lyft in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,222,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC said Lyft remains on “stable competitive footing,” suggesting the company still has a defensible position even as investors worry about slower U.S. ride growth. Lyft’s Competitive Position Remains Stable Despite Growth Concerns, RBC Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Lyft and Waymo are preparing to expand autonomous vehicle operations in Nashville, which could support long-term growth if the rollout goes smoothly. Lyft Fraud Scare And Nashville AV Rollout Test Investor Confidence
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say a Lyft driver used AI-generated images to falsely claim damage fees from riders, including a $75 charge, which raises concerns about fraud prevention, rider protection, and Lyft’s ability to police misconduct on its platform. Lyft driver caught using fake AI damage photos to charge Boca Raton dad a fee

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LYFT. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lyft from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Lyft in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Lyft from $21.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, Director Jill Beggs sold 2,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.89, for a total value of $29,071.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,049.65. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 23,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $314,691.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 696,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,268,105. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,699 shares of company stock valued at $771,756. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $13.48 on Friday. Lyft, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.46 and a 52 week high of $25.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.69 and a 200 day moving average of $16.76. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.84.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted 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). Lyft had a net margin of 43.82% and a negative return on equity of 2.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.