Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Raised to Hold at Scotiabank

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) was upgraded by Scotiabank to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. William Blair lowered shares of Lyft to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Lyft from $19.00 to $14.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lyft currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.69.

Lyft Price Performance

NASDAQ:LYFT opened at $14.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 2.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.83. Lyft has a 52 week low of $12.46 and a 52 week high of $25.54.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Lyft had a net margin of 42.32% and a negative return on equity of 1.20%. Lyft’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lyft will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 5,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $103,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 299,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,201,549.16. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Lawee sold 4,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.33, for a total transaction of $79,943.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 119,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,064,418.92. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 112,020 shares of company stock valued at $1,834,809 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,783,363 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $567,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,438 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Lyft by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,873,232 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $191,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,938 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in Lyft by 51.6% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 7,662,027 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $101,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,417 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lyft by 58.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,478 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $89,360,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,010 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Lyft by 1,333.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,441,315 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $94,108,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992,016 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Lyft

Here are the key news stories impacting Lyft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo partnership expands Lyft’s autonomous-vehicle opportunity. Waymo rides are now available through the Lyft app in Nashville, giving Lyft a role in distributing autonomous rides while potentially strengthening its long-term platform strategy. Waymo Rides Now Available on the Lyft App in Nashville
• Positive Sentiment: Lyft reaffirmed its third-quarter guidance. The company maintained its outlook for gross bookings, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, indicating that the CFO change was not accompanied by a reduction in operating expectations. Lyft Names New CFO, Reaffirms Q3 2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Brous will become CFO on September 28. Current CFO Erin Brewer is retiring from the role later this month and will remain an adviser through December 15. Brous is an internal promotion with extensive Lyft experience, which supports continuity but still creates near-term leadership uncertainty. Lyft Insider to Take CFO Seat Amid Robotaxi Push
• Neutral Sentiment: New analyst coverage of Lyft, Uber and DoorDash puts the companies in direct comparison, but the available report does not identify a clear Lyft-specific catalyst. Uber, DoorDash, or Lyft: Which Company Is Scotiabank Analyst Favoring?
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO transition overshadowed the reaffirmed outlook. Investors appear concerned about changing financial leadership, particularly alongside reports that insiders have sold shares without any reported purchases in the past six months. Lyft Slides as CFO Transition Overshadows Reaffirmed Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: A report that a Lyft driver is wanted in connection with the alleged abduction of two women in Virginia presents a potential reputational and safety concern, although the incident involves an individual driver rather than a disclosed company policy change. Lyft Driver Wanted for Abducting Two Women in Virginia

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.