Photo: Courtesy of Allie Michelle on Flickr

Lyft Inc LYFT shares traded higher by 2.7% on Wednesday after the company reported a fourth-quarter revenue beat despite disappointing rider growth.

Lyft reported fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 9 cents on revenue of $970 million, Both numbers topped the consensus analyst estimate of 8 cents and $940.1 million, respectively. Revenue was up 70% from a year ago.

Lyft reported 18.73 million active riders in the quarter, short of the 20.2 million riders Wall Street had expected. However, revenue per rider of $51.79 exceeded the analyst estimate of $46.54.

Lyft's active riders count remains below pre-pandemic levels of 22.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Looking ahead, Lyft guided for first-quarter revenue of between $800 million and $850 million, well short of analyst estimates of $989.9 million thanks to the ongoing omicron COVID-19 variant outbreak.

Reopening 2.0: KeyBanc analyst Edward Yruma said he is confident active driver growth will accelerate as the pandemic subsides.

"While Omicron has delayed recovery, we think that LYFT remains well-positioned to capitalize on our Reopening 2.0 framework," Yruma wrote.

D.A. Davidson analyst Tom White said Lyft's late-January pickup in rides is encouraging.

"Over the past two years, LYFT has significantly streamlined its cost structure, and we believe the company remains well-positioned to deliver significant EBITDA flow-through in the coming years as rideshare volumes recover and the company expands/launches new products," White wrote.

Needham analyst Bernie McTernan said the omicron variant derailed Lyft's recovery momentum.

"LYFT noted positive momentum in rides in the last week of January which is likely a reason for their guidance of a robust >36% revenue growth in '22E," McTernan wrote.

Valuation Full: Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler said Lyft has plenty of long-term growth drivers ahead, including new products and innovation.

"While positive on longer-term fundamentals, we believe shares are fairly valued at current levels (~5.5x 2022 EV/gross profits, in-line with peer group)," Kessler wrote.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said Lyft's rebound story appears to have hit a speed bump.

"While 1Q22 guidance is a disappointment and will weigh on shares, demand impacts from Covid are not surprising and the worst of Omicron already appears to be in Lyft's rear-view so we see improving demand after 1Q22," Ives wrote.

Ratings And Price Targets:

• Wedbush has an Outperform rating and $50 target.
• D.A. Davidson has a Buy rating and $63 target.
• Raymond James has a Market Perform rating.
• Needham has a Hold rating.
• KeyBanc has an Overweight rating and $65 target.