Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 24,395,103 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 25,392,574 shares.The stock last traded at $9.42 and had previously closed at $9.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SNAP shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Snap from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $15.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.87.

Snap Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.25 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative return on equity of 25.67% and a negative net margin of 13.02%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In other news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $9,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 55,818,548 shares in the company, valued at $504,599,673.92. The trade was a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total value of $206,820.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 480,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,520,922.02. This trade represents a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,350,523 shares of company stock valued at $12,698,797. 22.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. United Bank bought a new position in Snap during the third quarter valued at $177,000. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Snap by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 19,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Snap during the third quarter valued at about $122,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Snap by 5.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 47,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Snap by 13.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.