Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.1667.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SNAP shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “strong sell” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.50 price target on shares of Snap and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.50 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd.

Snap Stock Performance

NYSE SNAP opened at $5.18 on Monday. Snap has a 1-year low of $4.65 and a 1-year high of $10.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.53 and a 200-day moving average of $7.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.19 and a beta of 0.83.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 68,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.73, for a total transaction of $324,572.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,785,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,175,263.64. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 49,313,775 shares in the company, valued at $264,321,834. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,526,487 shares of company stock worth $13,435,587. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tobam raised its holdings in Snap by 953.3% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 47,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 42,814 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap during the fourth quarter worth $185,000. SB Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $596,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Snap by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 56,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Snap in the 4th quarter worth $1,434,000. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.