Lyft Higher as Jefferies Lays Out Bull Thesis
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Lyft (LYFT) - Get Report was higher Wednesday as analysts at Jefferies released a bullish note on the ride-hailing service, reiterating a buy rating and $90 price target.
The shares were up 0.7% to $62.27 Wednesday. The price target represents a potential upside of 46% from the stock's previous closing price.
The San Francisco company went public March 29 and as of the close Tuesday was trading 14% below its IPO price of $72.
Analysts Brent Thill and John Byun said they expected the stock would recover "as Lyft executes and misconceptions clear."
The company must "overcome concerns that growth will be capped as a #2 behind Uber." (UBER) - Get Report They noted that 2018 revenue, $2.2 billion, was six times the 2016 figure. And they see "plenty of headroom in [the] U.S. for a duopoly in a market that is less than 1% penetrated."
And Lyft must "disprove bears" who say the company will never be profitable. The analysts note that pretax profit margins and per-ride metrics are improving.
They call Lyft "highly focused" and said it "has been able to outexecute [Uber] and gain outsized share in a duopoly."