Laura Buckman/Reuters
Ride-sharing service Lyft CEO Logan Green speaks during a session at the South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive, film and music conference in Austin, Texas March 16, 2015.
- Lyft hit a new low Monday after shares of rival Uber had an underwhelming stock-market debut on Friday.
- Lyft's stock is down nearly 34% since its initial public offering in late March as investors grapple with the company's uncertain path to profitability and the threat Uber poses.
- Watch Lyft trade live.
Lyft on Monday continued its rocky run as a public company, with shares plunging to a new low.
The stock fell by as much as 6.6%, to a record low of $47.71, as the broader stock market came under intense pressure and rival Uber made its public debut the session prior.
With Monday's decline, Lyft shares are now down 34% - or about $12.5 billion in market value - since their initial public offering in late March. Its first month on the stock market was the second-worst for a large US-listed IPO on record, according to a Dealogic analysis. Only Facebook's 2012 debut was worse.
A few things are weighing on Lyft.
The broader market is in the midst of a particularly volatile period as the US and China have escalated their long-standing trade war, creating an inopportune environment for any newly public company.
The trade spat between the world's two biggest economies is latest phase was taken to new heights on Monday after China said it would raise tariffs on thousands of American products.
While major US markets are still within striking distance of their all-time highs, they've tumbled 3% over the past week.
Read more: Stocks are plunging after China retaliates with duties on $60 billion of US goods
At the same time, Lyft is one of many money-losing IPOs to hit the market this year, logging billions of dollars of losses in the last year.
While it's hardly unique for a young technology company to lose money while chasing growth, analysts have still pointed to Lyft's uncertain path to profitability as a reason for caution. Lyft recorded a $1.1 billion loss in its first quarterly report as a public company, released last week.
Meanwhile, Uber has been a major factor in evaluating Lyft's performance. Analysts are concerned about Uber's dominance in the global ride-hailing market and its sheer size as a competitive threat.
While the bears are laser-focused on Lyft's number-two position in the ride-hailing market and its eye-popping losses, the bulls are trying to craft a long-term narrative.
"Long term, we still see shared transportation as a market with a long runway for secular growth, potentially more rational industry competitive dynamics as maturity approaches & broader positive impacts on society," Eric Sheridan, an analyst at UBS, wrote in a note to clients.
Read related coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:
Uber is tanking after logging the biggest first-day dollar loss in US IPO history
Stalled out: Why the rush of IPOs from big, unprofitable companies like Uber and Lyft could throw the entire market off track
3 reasons why Uber had such a 'weird' and terrible IPO, according to a portfolio manager who wouldn't buy the stock
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