Snap Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 222,358 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the typical volume of 143,139 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNAP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research upgraded Snap from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Exane BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Snap to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, New Street Research cut shares of Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.83.

Insider Activity at Snap

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 3,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $27,767.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 483,181 shares in the company, valued at $3,546,548.54. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 23,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.83, for a total transaction of $185,688.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,972,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,271,159.33. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,393,341 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,210.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Snap by 31.7% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,208,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,757 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Snap by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,107,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,677 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the 2nd quarter worth $2,723,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the second quarter valued at $1,256,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Snap by 50.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 387,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after buying an additional 130,172 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Stock Performance

Snap stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.92. 105,142,763 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,201,227. Snap has a fifty-two week low of $5.86 and a fifty-two week high of $11.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.41 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.90.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative net margin of 8.60% and a negative return on equity of 21.61%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Snap Company Profile

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.