Analyst Ratings February 11, 2026

DA Davidson Cuts Lyft Target to $19, Cites Mixed Q4 Performance and AV Investment Risk

Firm holds Neutral rating as analysts across the street adjust targets after Lyft's fourth-quarter 2025 results

By Derek Hwang LYFT
DA Davidson Cuts Lyft Target to $19, Cites Mixed Q4 Performance and AV Investment Risk
LYFT

DA Davidson lowered its price target on Lyft to $19 from $22 while retaining a Neutral rating after describing Lyft's fourth-quarter 2025 results and first-quarter 2026 guidance as "mixed." The firm kept its 2026 revenue outlook largely unchanged, trimmed adjusted EBITDA forecasts modestly and flagged elevated autonomous vehicle investment risk as a key factor behind the estimate reduction. Other brokerages have also reset targets following the results, producing a range of views on Lyft's trajectory.

Key Points

  • DA Davidson lowered its Lyft price target to $19 from $22 and maintained a Neutral rating; Lyft traded at $14.10 with an implied analyst upside of ~42%.
  • DA Davidson left 2026 revenue forecasts largely unchanged but shifted expectations lower for Rides and higher for GB (Goods & Bikes); it trimmed 2026 adjusted EBITDA by 2% citing elevated AV investment risk.
  • Multiple brokerages adjusted targets after Lyft's Q4 2025 results, producing a wide range of price targets ($16 to $30) despite positive metrics like rising gross bookings and active riders.

DA Davidson reduced its price target on Lyft (LYFT) to $19.00 from $22.00 and kept a Neutral rating on the ride-hailing company. At the time of the note, Lyft was trading around $14.10, giving the analyst consensus a potential upside of approximately 42% from prevailing prices.

The firm said the move follows what it characterized as "mixed" results for fourth-quarter 2025 and guidance for the first quarter of 2026. While the brokerage left its overall 2026 revenue projections effectively unchanged, it reallocated expectations within Lyft's business mix: forecasts for the Rides segment were reduced while projections for the GB - Goods & Bikes - segment were increased.

DA Davidson trimmed its 2026 adjusted EBITDA estimate by about 2%. The note linked the reduction to the "potential for elevated AV investment risk," referring to Lyft's expenditures related to autonomous vehicle technology. The research team calculated that a $19 price target corresponds to roughly a 10 times 2026 EV/EBITDA multiple.

The $19 target sits below InvestingPro's Fair Value estimate cited in the note, which the research referenced as indicating Lyft may be undervalued despite the company trading at a relatively high current EV/EBITDA of 45.79.


Several other brokerages adjusted their Lyft targets after the fourth-quarter results:

  • Evercore ISI highlighted fourth-quarter gross bookings of $5.1 billion, a 19% year-over-year increase, and normalized revenue of $1.76 billion, up 14% year-over-year. Despite results that aligned with market expectations, Evercore lowered its price target to $21, citing a softer-than-expected outlook.
  • Truist Securities trimmed its target to $18, describing the quarter as "inline" while acknowledging improvements in user experience and new product initiatives.
  • Goldman Sachs reduced its target to $25 but maintained a Buy rating, noting record figures for Active Riders and Gross Bookings.
  • TD Cowen set a new target at $30, calling out solid gross bookings and EBITDA performance, while also pointing out that rides growth missed expectations.
  • Canaccord Genuity lowered its target to $16 and raised concerns about the potential impact of an expanding robotaxi market on Lyft's business.

Taken together, these revisions reflect a cautious posture among analysts despite multiple positive operating metrics in the reported quarter such as gains in gross bookings and active rider counts. The range of new targets - from $16 up to $30 - underscores differing views on growth sustainability, margin outlook, and longer-term competitive dynamics, including autonomous vehicle developments.


Investors and market observers will likely weigh the mixed quarter, the re-weighted segment outlook, and the modest EBITDA cut against the divergent analyst targets as they assess Lyft's valuation and strategic priorities. The note from DA Davidson places particular emphasis on the potential downside from higher-than-expected investments in AV technology, while other firms emphasized record engagement metrics or product progress when explaining their own adjustments.

Risks

  • Elevated autonomous vehicle (AV) investment risk could pressure adjusted EBITDA - impacts technology and mobility sectors.
  • Rides segment growth underperformance may weigh on top-line recovery and margin expansion - impacts ride-hailing and consumer mobility markets.
  • Broader analyst uncertainty and divergent price targets could increase stock volatility - affects equity investors and market sentiment in the transportation and tech sectors.

More from Analyst Ratings

HSBC Lowers Synopsys Rating to Hold, Flags 2026 as Transition Year Feb 21, 2026 DA Davidson Cuts Uber Price Target Citing Elevated Investment; Buy Rating Intact Feb 20, 2026 Freedom Capital Markets Raises Freeport-McMoRan to Buy, Cites Copper Supply Tightness Feb 20, 2026 BofA Lifts CF Industries Price Target After Strong Q4 EBITDA; Maintains Underperform Rating Feb 20, 2026 Truist Lifts Tandem Diabetes Price Target as Company Shifts Toward Pharmacy Model Feb 20, 2026