Wall Street Zen Downgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Snap to “Hold” from “Buy,” aligning with MarketBeat’s overall “Hold” consensus rating and average price target of $7.65.
• Snap reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of -$0.10 versus estimates of -$0.12 and revenue of $1.60 billion, up 18.9% year over year.
• SNAP shares opened at $5.67, while insiders sold 2.45 million shares worth approximately $13.4 million over the past 90 days; institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the stock.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

SNAP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Snap from $6.40 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.65.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $5.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.10 and a 200 day moving average of $5.17. Snap has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $9.28.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.02. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Snap will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $283,961.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,972,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,854,904.40. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 136,504 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $709,820.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,424,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,606,521.20. The trade was a 5.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,446,052 shares of company stock worth $13,426,002. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Snap by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners grew its holdings in Snap by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Snap by 561.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Snap by 6,678.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 6,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFSG Corp increased its position in shares of Snap by 52.7% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 8,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Company Profile

Snap Inc is a technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a visual messaging and social networking application. Snapchat enables users to communicate through photos, videos, text messages and augmented reality experiences, including Lenses and filters. The platform also offers Stories, Spotlight for short-form video, Snap Map and other tools for discovering and sharing content.

Snap generates most of its business through digital advertising, including advertising displayed across Snapchat's content and communication features.

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