How to buy Lyft shares

Lyft, Inc is a software-application business with stocks listed in the US. Lyft shares (LYFT) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$55.91 – a decrease of 5.12% over the previous week. Here's how to invest if you're based in Australia.

How to buy shares in Lyft

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Lyft. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: LYFT. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Lyft reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$55.91, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Lyft, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Lyft. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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Is it a good time to buy Lyft stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Is Lyft under- or over-valued?

Valuing Lyft stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Lyft's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Lyft's P/E ratio

Lyft's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 1x. In other words, Lyft shares trade at around 1x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Shorting Lyft shares

There are currently 24.8 million Lyft shares held short by investors – that's known as Lyft's "short interest". This figure is 10.4% up from 22.5 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Lyft shares can be evaluated.

Lyft's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Lyft's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Lyft shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Lyft shares traded daily (recently around 7.4 million). Lyft's SIR currently stands at 3.37. In other words for every 100,000 Lyft shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3370 shares are currently held short.

However Lyft's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Lyft shares, or, against the total number of tradable Lyft shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Lyft's short interest could be expressed as 0.08% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Lyft shares in existence, roughly 80 shares are currently held short) or 0.1173% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Lyft shares, roughly 117 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Lyft.

Find out more about how you can short Lyft stock.

Lyft share dividends

We're not expecting Lyft to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Lyft overview

Lyft, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. The company offers riders, personalized and on-demand access to various transportation options. It provides Ridesharing Marketplace, which enable drivers to provide their transportation services to riders. The company also offers a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for shorter routes; Express Drive program, a flexible car rentals program that connects drivers who need access to a car with third-party rental car companies; and concierge for organizations to manage the transportation needs of their customers and employees. In addition, it integrates third-party public transit data into the Lyft app to offer riders various transportation options; offers various enterprise programs, including monthly ride credits for daily commutes, supplementing public transit by providing rides for the first and last leg of commute trips, late-night rides home, and shuttle replacement rides; and provides transportation solutions that can be customized for events, such as recruiting events, conferences, celebrations, meetings, and company retreats. The company was formerly known as Zimride, Inc. and changed its name to Lyft, Inc. in April 2013. Lyft, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Lyft is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 18.431% of Lyft shares are held by insiders and 73.606% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Lyft?

  Lyft's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Lyft based?

  Lyft's address is: 185 Berry Street, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94107

• What is Lyft's ISIN number?

  Lyft's international securities identification number is: US55087P1049

• What is Lyft's CUSIP number?

  Lyft's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 55087P104