Snap Inc. $SNAP Shares Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its Snap stake by 372.6% in the first quarter, buying 294,048 additional shares and ending with 372,961 shares worth about $1.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in Snap, and institutions and hedge funds now own 47.52% of the company.
• Snap insiders sold shares in May, including CFO Douglas Hott and CAO Rebecca Morrow, while analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a price target of $7.41.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Free Report) by 372.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,961 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 294,048 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Snap were worth $1,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the 1st quarter valued at $115,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in Snap during the first quarter valued at $413,000. NFSG Corp increased its holdings in 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. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in Snap by 23.1% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 26,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 6,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $93,682.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 512,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,871,741.60. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Douglas Hott sold 124,209 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $695,570.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,571,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,398,434.40. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their position. 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 2,868,059 shares of company stock worth $15,855,631 in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Snap from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Snap from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.41.

Snap Trading Up 0.8%

SNAP stock opened at $4.57 on Tuesday. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $10.41. The business's 50-day moving average is $5.15 and its 200 day moving average is $5.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. Snap's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap Company Profile

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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