The rising cost of owning a car and Tesla’s (TSLA) disappointing robotaxi debut in Austin may turn out to be a win for ride-hailing company Lyft (LYFT), according to Oppenheimer analysts Chad Larkin and Jason Helfstein. Indeed, they believe that this situation gives Lyft a chance to close the gap with Uber (UBER) and significantly improve its EBITDA margins. The analysts argue that the idea of robotaxis disrupting ride-share demand has been put on pause, thanks to Tesla’s underwhelming rollout.
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Larkin and Helfstein also pointed out that since Lyft’s first-quarter earnings in May, consumer demand and competition haven’t changed much. This stable environment suggests that the company is on track for a strong second half of the year. In addition, as Lyft’s earnings grow, the analysts expect the company to pursue more strategic acquisitions, such as its recent FreeNow deal. They also believe that Lyft could eventually begin buying back its own shares.
As a result, based on this positive outlook and the stock’s strong performance since Q1, Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating on Lyft. It also raised its price target by $3 to $20 per share, which represents about 25% upside from Monday’s closing price. Interestingly, it is worth noting that Helfstein is a four-star analyst with an average return of 5.3% per rating.
Is LYFT a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on LYFT stock based on seven Buys, 22 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average LYFT price target of $17.21 per share implies 4.4% upside potential.
