Uber outperforming the overall constructive environment

By Sam Boughedda

Needham & Company analysts said in a research note Monday that Uber (NYSE:) is outperforming in the overall constructive environment.

The analysts, who have a Buy rating and a $54 price target on the stock, explained that the firm sees the current environment as constructive for Uber in the U.S. with low wait times, solid demand, and elevated pricing.

“However, in this strong environment UBER appears to be outperforming with the second half of January the strongest relative performance in our sample, which could be a reason for the recent LYFT promotions we have observed,” wrote the analysts. They have a Hold rating on Lyft (NASDAQ:) shares.

Needham is above consensus for both UBER mobility and LYFT bookings/revenue in the first quarter of 2023 and assumes roughly flat bookings for both sequentially in the quarter, given the constructive environment, normal seasonality, and “FX hurting less for UBER.”

“In addition, we are lowering our UBER delivery estimates, similar to the DASH cuts we made last week, offsetting higher mobility estimates,” they concluded.

Uber shares are up more than 3% Monday, while Lyft is currently trading 0.3% higher.