Uber Technologies Inc., gearing up for its landmark IPO this week, has taken steps to avoid setbacks that turned the debut of ride-sharing rival Lyft Inc. into a disappointment.

Among other things, Uber has trimmed its valuation and is now targeting between roughly $80 billion and $90 billion. That comes as Lyft shares have tumbled more than 20% from their peak the day they started trading in March.

Uber executives also have discussed with their underwriters and Lyft’s what went wrong with its rival’s listing with an eye toward avoiding the same pitfalls, according to people familiar with the matter.

One of those pitfalls was a big hedge related to a trade between investing legends George Soros and Carl Icahn that was seen as weighing on Lyft shares. Uber’s lawyers have scoured Lyft’s lockup agreement—which prohibits early investors from selling the shares until a set time after the IPO—for the kind of loopholes that permitted the hedge, so that Uber might close them ahead of its IPO.

Mr. Soros bought a 2.7% stake in Lyft from Mr. Icahn in the days leading up to the San Francisco company’s IPO. Before buying the shares, for about $550 million or $60 apiece, Mr. Soros hedged a big chunk of the stake, people involved in the process said. Hedges, which can take various forms, are typically used to mitigate potential losses on an investment.