Yahoo Finance

Key Takeaways

• Lyft shares soared Friday, a day after the ridesharing company topped first-quarter gross bookings estimates and boosted its stock buyback program.

• An activist investor said it would halt its campaign for changes at Lyft.

• Analysts from UBS, Oppenheimer, and JPMorgan raised their price targets for Lyft's stock.

Lyft (LYFT) shares soared Friday, a day after the ridesharing company topped first-quarter gross bookings estimates and boosted its stock buyback program.

Shares were up over 23% in recent trading, hitting their highest price since December earlier in the session at $16.14.

The company said after the bell Thursday that its board approved a new $750 million buyback plan, and expects to use $500 million of it over the next 12 months.

Analysts from UBS, Oppenheimer, and JPMorgan each lifted their price targets by $2 to $14, $17, and $16, respectively, following the report. JPMorgan analysts said they were "encouraged by some of Lyft’s underlying progress, with all-time highs across many metrics" like faster arrival times and the "highest frequency riders in 5 years."

Gross Bookings, Profits Top Estimates

Lyft reported $1.45 billion in first-quarter revenue, up 14% year-over-year but just below the $1.47 billion analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Gross bookings and earnings per share topped estimates at $4.16 billion and $0.01, respectively.

Activist investor Engine Capital said Friday it would halt its campaign and revoke its nominees for Lyft's board as they said the new buyback plan comes after a "series of productive conversations."

Lyft forecast gross bookings of $4.41 billion to $4.57 billion for the second quarter, in line with the analyst consensus. CEO David Risher told CNBC Friday morning that the company hasn't seen "anything to worry about” regarding consumer behavior so far this year.

Read the original article on Investopedia