Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Position in Snap Inc. $SNAP

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Snap stake by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, selling over 2.1 million shares and leaving it with 2.16 million shares valued at about $17.4 million.
• Snap’s latest earnings missed analyst expectations even as revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $1.53 billion; the company reported an EPS loss of $0.05 versus estimates for a $0.09 profit.
• Analysts remain cautious on Snap, with the stock holding a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.91, while insiders have also sold shares recently.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,157,169 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,121,943 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.13% of Snap worth $17,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Snap by 92.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Snap in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 47.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research set a $7.30 target price on shares of Snap and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Snap from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Snap from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Snap from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Snap presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.91.

Snap Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $5.89 on Tuesday. Snap Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $10.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 3.53. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.55 and a beta of 1.05.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 71,745 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.67, for a total transaction of $406,794.15. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 2,572,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,587,736.31. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total transaction of $10,880,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 47,012,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $255,747,042.56. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,665,427 shares of company stock worth $14,514,853. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company's stock.

About Snap

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.

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