Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Trading 6.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s share price shot up 6.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $13.28 and last traded at $12.80. 17,214,273 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 21,841,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SNAP. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Snap from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Snap from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Snap presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.10.

Snap Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.56. The company has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.03 and a beta of 0.98.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $715,137,362.50. The trade was a 1.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Young sold 112,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.55, for a total value of $1,181,811.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,791,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,451,618 shares of company stock worth $17,560,157. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Snap in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Snap by 141.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Snap in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Snap during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.