Lyft Stock: Buy, sell, or keep it?


If you ask the professional analyst community about ride sharing companies lyft (NASDAQ: Lift)they will collectively tell you that the stock price may be strong. At the time of writing, the average price target for analysts is $18.69 per share, according to 32 analysts tracked by Tipranks. This shows an almost 40% increase from where you traded at the time of this writing.

That said, the analyst community is often wrong. And I believe it is again wrong regarding Lyft’s price targets. But I don’t mean that in the way you might think.

I don’t think analysts are like that That’s allWe estimate the potential for LYFT investments today. On the contrary, I believe there are a lot of it Higher It’s a better chance than it gets trust, and I believe it Lyft Stock is a purchase today.

I will not deny that Uber Technology (NYSE: Uber) This is an 800 pound gorilla on board. However, Lyft ranks second in the US and benefits from the ongoing adoption trend. Generally speaking, ride space continues to gain ground. And the growth in the industry helped Lyft set an active rider record in the third quarter of 2024.

In the third quarter, Lyft had 24.4 million active riders, up 9% from the previous year. The company also set ride records during the quarter. There were 217 million vehicles in the third quarter, an increase of 16%. Therefore, these metrics clearly show two things: Lyft attracts more users, and these users often ride Lyft.

They are good underlying business trends. However, Lyft’s finances are also moving in a positive direction. CEO David Risher took over in April 2023. This chart clearly shows that something had happened around that time.

Lyft Free Cash Flow (Quarterly) Chart
Lyft Free Cash Flow (Quarterly) Data based on data YCHARTS

As is clear from the charts, Lyft’s new CEO was serious Free cash flowand the company quickly improved. Today, it is for the first time in its history that free cash flow is positive.

In summary, Lyft’s business adoption level is encouraging, growing and profitable under new management. These things provide a good start to solid investment papers.

As for ratings, Lyft looks like a screaming bargain. Compared to Uber, Lyft stocks are valued at over 60% cheaper. This is true when measuring the valuation of a sale (P/S) from price and a free cash flow valuation from price.

The kicker here is that Lyft’s revenue is growing faster than Uber’s revenues now. High-growth businesses typically have a higher reputation. However, as the chart shows, Lyft is both high growth and inexpensive, and is a rare combination.

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