Lyft saw its best week of rides last week since the pandemic started
The shares of LYFT Inc (NYSE:LYFT) are up 5.1% to trade at $59.95 at last check, after ride-hailing last week saw its highest level of volume since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, Lyft said it expects to report smaller losses than previously projected for the first quarter of 2021.
Out of the gate today, Lyft stock raced to an annual high of $60.80. While the shares have been consolidating below this level for the past month, their 20-day moving average contained any sharp pullbacks. Over the last six months, LYFT is up 109.7%.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 8,219 calls have crossed the tape so far, which is three times the average intraday amount. Most popular is the weekly 3/5 61-strike call, where new positions are being opened. This implies that options traders expect a lot of upside for Lyft stock by the end of the week. The April 65 call is also popular today.
The security could soon benefit from a short squeeze as well. Short interest rose 10.4% in the most recent reporting period, and the 24.84 million shares sold short accounts for a healthy 9.9% of the stock's available float.
Premiums are reasonably priced at the moment. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 53% stands in the extremely low 4th percentile of its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment. Furthermore, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at an elevated 86 out of 100, meaning LYFT has exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.