Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $7.31 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Snap, with 23 of 37 covering firms rating it Hold and an average 12-month price target of $7.31.
• Snap reported quarterly revenue of $1.72 billion, up 14.3% year over year but slightly below expectations; daily active users also missed forecasts, raising concerns about its advertising recovery despite improved earnings.
• Several brokerages recently cut their price targets, including Citigroup to $6 and JPMorgan to $5, while Snap shares opened at $4.97 on Friday.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.31.

SNAP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Snap from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Freedom Capital raised Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Snap from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In related news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 6,797 shares of Snap stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.82, for a total transaction of $39,558.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,965,300 shares in the company, valued at $28,898,046. This trade represents a 0.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $685,796.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,324,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,087,727.60. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 445,926 shares of company stock worth $2,326,930 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Snap by 68.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its holdings in Snap by 52.7% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 8,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Snap by 13.8% in the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 27,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Snap by 6.5% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 57,178 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Snap by 31.7% in the third quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 17,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 4,159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company's stock.

Snap Trading Down 2.3%

Snap stock opened at $4.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of -55.23 and a beta of 1.23. Snap has a one year low of $3.81 and a one year high of $9.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 2.94.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snap returned to net profitability and beat adjusted earnings expectations. Its 30 million paid subscribers also point to growing subscription revenue and a potential complement to advertising. Article: Snap Shares Fall More Than 10% as Revenue and User Growth Miss Forecasts Despite Higher Earnings Article: Snap Q3: The Potential Is There - The Conviction Isn't
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders bought a high volume of Snap call options, suggesting some are positioning for a rebound; options activity is not a reliable indication of future performance. Article: Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Snap
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.72 billion but missed estimates, while daily active users also came in below expectations. The shortfalls raised concerns about the pace of Snap’s advertising recovery and overshadowed its earnings improvement. Article: Snap shares fall 13% as revenue and daily users miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts cut price targets, reinforcing a more cautious outlook: Citigroup and UBS lowered targets to $6 and kept neutral ratings; JPMorgan cut its target to $5 and maintained an underweight rating; Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $5 and stayed neutral. Barclays also halved its target to $8, though it retained an overweight rating. Citigroup ratings UBS ratings JPMorgan ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Snap also announced a change in how it measures user engagement, which may complicate comparisons with prior periods as investors assess user trends. Article: Snap tumbles on revenue, user growth miss; announces metric shift

About Snap

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, messages and Stories, while offering creative tools such as augmented reality (AR) Lenses and filters. The platform also includes features such as Snap Map, Spotlight and content from publishers and creators.

Snap generates most of its revenue from digital advertising, including video, augmented reality and other advertising formats delivered across Snapchat.

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