Lyft insiders do not sell at the first opportunity since their IPO



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Internet analyst Tom White told CNBC on Monday that he was "surprised" to see Lyft's stock rising on the day of the blocking's expiration.

"I was waiting at [a down day]. I think this reflects the fact that this company has been deprived for a very long time, "said D.A. Davidson's senior research analyst. [venture capital investors] but Lyft has raised a lot of money from more traditional investors, mutual funds and other types of asset managers who may be less inclined to sell and reduce the stock. "

Lyft, Uber's smallest rival, announced two weeks ago that the stock holdings would expire about a month earlier than expected on Aug. 19. The company made the change because of its original expiry date, September 24 – about six months later. from its initial public offering – fell into the "blackout period" of the company's results, which would have prevented insiders from trading before the end of the quarter.

Investors feared that their expiration earlier overwhelmed the market and depressed Lyft's shares. But this was not the case Monday, although the stock was about 27% lower than its bid price of $ 72 per share in March.

The blocking of the IPO refers to the time during which insiders must hold their shares after the publication of a company. The restrictions are in place, usually 90 to 180 days, to prevent a stock from collapsing during a flood of sales.

Lyft estimates that about 257.6 million shares, or about 88% of the total number of outstanding shares, could be eligible for purchase at the expiration of the date Monday.

Along with White on "Squawk Alley," Youssef Squali, senior analyst of media and internet at SunTrust, said the latest call for Lyft's results actually gives all shareholders "a reason to continue believing in history ".

"One of the major concerns of many investors is that they do not know when this company and Uber will become profitable." Is it 2022 "Is it 2023?" Said Squali. "I think the gains [Lyft] put to tell you that they are more likely than not to become profitable sooner than what the street thinks. "

Earlier this month, Lyft reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter loss of 68 cents per share and sales exceeding expectations of $ 867 million, up more than 70 percent from the first quarter. same period of the previous year. Lyft has also raised its outlook for the year.

Since their inception in May, Uber shares have lost about 22% of the original price of 45 euros the action. Uber last week reported a loss per share of $ 4.72, which was much worse than expected. Revenues of $ 3.17 billion also missed analysts' estimates.

– Reuters contributed to this report.

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