The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.17% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp raised Snap from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Snap from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Tigress Financial began coverage on Snap in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Snap from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.48.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP opened at $4.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.80. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of -19.35 and a beta of 1.05. Snap has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $10.41.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative return on equity of 18.92% and a negative net margin of 6.72%.The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Snap will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 44,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $250,796.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,057,891 shares in the company, valued at $28,324,189.60. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total value of $10,880,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 47,012,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $255,747,042.56. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,907,554 shares of company stock valued at $16,093,619.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Snap by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new position in Snap in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners boosted its holdings in Snap by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Snap during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Snap by 561.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.