Lyft Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 65,134 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 42% compared to the average daily volume of 45,956 call options.

Lyft Trading Up 30.1 %

Lyft stock traded up $4.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $18.74. The stock had a trading volume of 20,496,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,810,744. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.50. Lyft has a one year low of $8.93 and a one year high of $20.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.88 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.05. Lyft had a negative net margin of 1.27% and a negative return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.14) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lyft will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lyft news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 7,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total transaction of $81,943.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 932,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,625,506.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lyft news, Director Logan Green sold 10,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.62, for a total value of $119,953.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,843,779.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 7,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.40, for a total value of $81,943.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 932,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,625,506.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,664 shares of company stock worth $380,048. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lyft by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,899,391 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $636,603,000 after purchasing an additional 782,736 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,256,080 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $88,211,000 after buying an additional 94,710 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lyft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 5,846,287 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $113,126,000 after buying an additional 63,461 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Lyft by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,870,599 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $40,475,000 after acquiring an additional 812,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Lyft by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,601,400 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $22,580,000 after acquiring an additional 167,400 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LYFT shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Lyft from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Lyft from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Lyft in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Lyft in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.13.

Lyft Company Profile

Lyft, Inc operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips.