Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 39,460,000 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the November 15th total of 50,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Lyft Stock Down 4.8 %

LYFT stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.14. The company had a trading volume of 16,037,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,085,147. Lyft has a fifty-two week low of $8.93 and a fifty-two week high of $20.82. The company has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.59.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.09. Lyft had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Lyft from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Lyft from $10.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nomura upgraded shares of Lyft from a “reduce” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Lyft from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lindsay Catherine Llewellyn sold 4,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.76, for a total transaction of $75,337.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 755,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,423,842.72. This represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.32, for a total transaction of $27,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 929,638 shares in the company, valued at $10,523,502.16. This trade represents a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,666 shares of company stock worth $454,770. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyft

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYFT. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lyft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Lyft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Lyft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Lyft by 4,032.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,554 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

About Lyft

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.