BUZZ-Lyft skids after BofA double downgrades on heightened Waymo competition

Reuters2025-04-04
BUZZ-Lyft skids after BofA double downgrades on heightened Waymo competition

** Lyft's LYFT.O shares down 9.7% to $11.70 on Thurs after BofA Global Research downgrades to 'underperform' from 'buy', pointing to competition from Waymo, Alphabet's GOOGL.O self-driving unit

** LYFT shares set to snap three-session winning streak. This as global equities tumble after Trump's latest tariffs salvo fuels recession fears .N

** BofA slashes PT by $7 to $10.50 vs Wall Street median of $16, according to LSEG data

** Autonomous vehicle headwinds to increase for Lyft as Waymo grows rapidly, BofA analyst Michael McGovern said in note

** Lyft's higher exposure to San Francisco and Los Angeles ride-share markets make competition vs Waymo "much more impactful" in comparison vs Uber UBER.N, McGovern said

** McGovern said he still sees long-term potential for Lyft in the AV ecosystem, but given its "still-nascent" partnerships, he is "losing confidence in near-term upside"

** Last week, activist hedge fund Engine Capital Management nominated director candidates at Lyft and has been urging co recently to address its sagging stock price and business strategy

** Avg rating among 47 analysts on the stock is "hold" and BofA is now the sole bear - LSEG

** Including move on the session, stock down ~9% in 2025. It closed at $18.28 a year ago

** Shares of UBER down nearly 5% on Thurs, trimming YTD gain to ~18%

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))

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