Snap Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 119,645 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 17% compared to the typical daily volume of 102,370 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SNAP shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Snap from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC downgraded Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.40 price objective on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Snap in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.23.

Snap Stock Performance

SNAP traded up $0.31 on Monday, reaching $5.00. The company had a trading volume of 28,506,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,092,324. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Snap has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $9.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of -20.85 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.36.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 343,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total transaction of $2,022,396.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,963,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,185,856.28. The trade was a 6.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas Hott sold 114,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.67, for a total transaction of $650,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,456,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,928,054.49. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,868,059 shares of company stock valued at $15,855,631. 22.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Snap by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Snap during the 2nd quarter worth $136,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in Snap by 104.0% in the second quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 61,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 31,357 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Snap in the second quarter valued at $1,675,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 52.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 30,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

About Snap

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.