Investors Purchase High Volume of Snap Call Options (NYSE:SNAP)

Key Points

• Snap call-option activity surged: Traders purchased 155,956 call options, 83% above the typical volume of 85,228, signaling heightened interest in the stock.
• Snap shares rose to $5.92, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $1.60 billion and an adjusted loss of $0.10 per share, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue increased 18.9% year over year.
• Wall Street maintains a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $7.65; insiders sold 2.77 million shares worth $15.3 million during the last quarter, primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 155,956 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 83% compared to the typical volume of 85,228 call options.

Snap Stock Performance

NYSE SNAP traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.92. 45,621,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,875,355. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.91 and a beta of 1.03. Snap has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $9.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.85 and a 200 day moving average of $5.13.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price objective on Snap in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Snap from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Snap to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 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 value of $283,961.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,972,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,854,904.40. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 the company'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 $709,820.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 2,424,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,606,521.20. This trade represents 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,770,698 shares of company stock valued at $15,345,605.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Snap by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,251,557 shares of the company's stock worth $817,100,000 after purchasing an additional 641,271 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Snap by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,452,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,543 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the third quarter valued at about $176,697,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Snap by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,525,119 shares of the company's stock worth $108,711,000 after buying an additional 469,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Snap by 53.3% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company's stock worth $79,420,000 after buying an additional 3,582,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% 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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