Lyft Gains Ahead of Insiders’ First Chance to Sell Shares

(Bloomberg) -- Some early investors in the ride-hailing company Lyft Inc., one of the most anticipated yet disappointing IPOs of the year, will get their first opportunity to sell shares on Monday.

The lockup expiry was brought ahead from Sept. 24, as the original date would have fallen within Lyft’s blackout period ahead of third-quarter earnings.

Lyft estimated that about 258 million Class A shares may become eligible for sale at the market open on Aug. 19. The company had 280 million Class A shares outstanding as of July 31, according to Bloomberg data. Including Class B shares, equity award plans and restricted stock units, the total diluted number of shares stood at about 341.5 million.

The company’s shares gained as much as 1.8% in New York on Friday.

In a report published after Lyft’s earnings on Aug. 7, DA Davidson analyst Tom White said the company’s co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer will not be selling shares at the time of the lockup expiry.

Lyft’s latest quarterly results, which surpassed expectations, outshone larger rival Uber Technologies Inc., which reported a “messy” quarter, analysts said. Lyft shares have fallen 12% since reporting earnings on Aug. 7, while Uber shares have dropped 20% since reporting its earnings a day later.

To contact the reporter on this story: Esha Dey in New York at edey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Bissell-Linsk

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.