Ride-hailing company beats rival Uber in race to go public | Calamatta Cuschieri

The Maltese market closed in the red on Friday, with MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.51% lower, to 9,405.638 points. Best performer was PG plc by adding 1.45% to close at 1.40. Fimbank plc and Bank of Valetta showed biggest fall, by shedding 3.38% and 3.16% to close at 0.715 and 1.38 respectively. HSBC Bank Malta plc slid 3.03% to 1.60, followed by Malta Post plc and RS2 Software plc which fell 0.79% and 0.70% to close at 1.25 and 1.41 respectively. Mapfre Middlesea plc, Go plc, Plaza Centres plc, Malta International Airport plc, Medserv plc and Tigne Mall plc were active but closed unchanged.

European shares rose on Friday and headed for their best quarterly performance in four years, helped by encouraging signals from U.S.-China trade talks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.19% to close at 379.09. France’s CAC rose 0.13% to close at 5350.53 and Germany’s trade-sensitive DAX added 0.77% to close at 11516.23. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.62% to close at 7279.19.

U.S. stocks also rise on Friday after better-than-expected China manufacturing data calmed some lingering concerns about momentum for the world’s second-biggest economy. The Dow rose 0.8%, to 25,928.68, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.7% to 2,834.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8% to 7,729.32.

Lyft’s stock market debut with more than 30m shares on sale for estimated USD 72 each.

The ride-hailing company Lyft made its stock market debut on Friday and soared over 20% in the first few minutes of trading as investors snapped up the first in a series of hotly anticipated tech sales. Lyft is the first of a raft of tech “unicorns” – private companies valued at over $1bn – set to make their initial public offerings this year, the share sale valued Lyft at $22bn. The company said earlier this month that it hoped to put more than 30m shares up for sale, with an anticipated price of about $72 each. Within minutes of trading the shares had risen to $87.24 but ended the day at $78.02.

In the race to IPO, Lyft will beat out its rival Uber, which is currently valued at a jaw-dropping $120bn. In the realm of public opinion, Lyft has often come out on top as well. Uber has faced criticism over allegations of sexual harassment among its workforce, concerns over passenger safety, and campaigns to “#DeleteUber” over the past few years.

Lyft reported $2.2bn in revenue last year, more than double the $1.1bn the company made in 2017, according to financial details released for the first time this month. However, Lyft has lost almost $3bn since 2012, though it raised more than $5bn in venture capital.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, Junior Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.