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

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.99.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Snap in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Snap from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Snap from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $12.11 price objective on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Snap Stock Performance

NYSE:SNAP opened at $10.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Snap has a 52 week low of $8.29 and a 52 week high of $17.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.14.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Snap had a negative return on equity of 35.60% and a negative net margin of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS. Snap’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.50, for a total value of $12,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 57,210,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,137,362.50. This represents a 1.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Young sold 112,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.55, for a total transaction of $1,181,811.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,791,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,445,556.40. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,451,618 shares of company stock worth $17,560,157 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Snap in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Snap by 141.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Snap by 136.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.