Shares of Lyft Inc. LYFT, +6.08% jumped 3.5% in premarket trading Wednesday, off the previous session’s record low close, after Gordon Haskett analyst Robert Mollins recommended investor buy, citing “overly negative” sentiment and a number of potential positive catalysts. The stock had tumbled 12.0% on Tuesday, and rival ride-share company Uber Technologies Inc.’s stock UBER, +3.93% dropped 10.4%, after the U.S. Labor Department said it would revisit rules that designate whether workers are classified as employees or independent contractors. On Wednesday, Gordon Haskett’s Mollins raised his rating to buy from hold. While he still sees Lyft as “disadvantaged” relative to Uber, Lyft’s “material” stock underperformance, relative valuation discount and overly negative investor sentiment has brought the stock to the point where “we think any news (barring something terrible) would be welcomed.” In addition, Mollins said improving driver supply and conversion rates, continued shared-ride adoption, upfront-pay capability and the return of employees to offices could boost the stock. Lyft shares have plunged 73.6% year to date through Tuesday, while Uber’s stock had tumbled 41.2% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.20% has dropped 24.7%.
