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Both Uber Technologies and Lyft, which are among the hardest-hit stocks in the recent market crash, have announced they are discontinuing the practice of allowing “shared” or “pooled” rides, as a step to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“To flatten the curve of community spread in the cities we serve, we are suspending our Pool option in the US, Canada, London, and Paris,” Uber (ticker: UBER) tweeted this morning. “We are in contact with local leaders globally and expect to take similar action when needed elsewhere.”

“Lyft is pausing Shared rides across all markets,” Lyft (LYFT) tweeted about 30 minutes before Uber’s tweet. “The health and safety of the Lyft community is our , and we’re dedicated to doing what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and base our actions on official guidance.”

—top priority

The shares of both ride-sharing services are among the worst-performing stocks in the recent decline, as global travel slows dramatically and more people work at home. In the Bay Area, where both companies are based, millions of people have been ordered to shelter in place. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday warned that his city was likely to take a similar action.

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BofA Global Research analyst Justin Post on Tuesday repeated his Buy rating on Uber shares, while cutting his price target on the stock to $42 from $49. He also cut his estimate on 2020 ride bookings by 21%, to $44.7 billion from $56.5 million. Post cut his bookings estimates by 10% for the first quarter, 40% for the second quarter, and 25% for the third quarter. Post also upped his estimate on the company’s 2020 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) loss to $2.3 billion, from $1.3 billion.

For 2021, Post cut his bookings estimate by 6%. But Post still thinks Uber will turn free-cash-flow positive in 2022, and he remains a bull on the stock. “While the virus impact is negative for the sector, we think Uber’s scale could leave the company in a better competitive position (industry over-investment will be curtailed) as virus concerns eventually subside,” he writes.

Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell likewise is sticking with his bullish call on Uber shares despite the sharp slide in the company’s stock price. He has an Overweight rating and $52 price target on the shares.

“We believe it has sufficient liquidity to see it through the near-term drop in ride hailing activity, Eats should be a beneficiary of the current environment and the company’s competitive position will arguably be stronger on the other side of the crisis,” Cordwell writes in a research note. “In addition, valuation looks increasingly compelling at less than 9x fiscal 2022 Rides enterprise value/Ebitda, suggesting significant upside potential as the world recovers from the Covid-19 situation.”

Cordwell notes that the company has about $10 billion in unrestricted cash after its recent acquisition of the Middle Eastern ride service Careem, and asserts that the company “could survive close to six months with zero bookings, given estimated unavoidable quarterly costs of about $3 billion.” His conclusion: “The company is well positioned to get through the hit to demand from Covid-19.”

Uber shares closed Tuesday down 6.8%, to $18.91, and have now fallen about 54% since their early February peak. Lyft shares fell 2.4%, to $18.66, and have now fallen 64% over the same span. The S&P 500 closed up 6%.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com