Robert Murphy Sells 2,000,000 Shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock

Key Points

• Snap CTO Robert Murphy sold 2 million shares at an average price of $5.55, generating $11.1 million and reducing his direct ownership by 4.57% to 41.8 million shares.
• Snap’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with $1.60 billion in revenue, 18.9% year-over-year growth, and an adjusted loss of $0.10 per share versus the expected $0.12 loss.
• Shares recently traded around $5.33, while analysts maintained a broadly cautious outlook: Snap has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $7.65; institutional investors own 47.52% of the stock.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) CTO Robert Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.55, for a total transaction of $11,100,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 41,809,791 shares in the company, valued at $232,044,340.05. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Snap Stock Performance

SNAP traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $5.33. The stock had a trading volume of 42,397,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,957,092. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $9.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $4.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.29. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. Snap had a negative net margin of 4.90% and a negative return on equity of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Key Stories Impacting Snap

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded Snap from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding a bullish endorsement following the company’s recent earnings performance. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Snap’s second-quarter results strengthened hopes for a turnaround. Revenue reached $1.60 billion, ahead of expectations, while the adjusted loss per share was narrower than analysts anticipated; revenue also increased 18.9% year over year. Snap: Strong Q2 Earnings Bolster Hopes Of A Turnaround
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from Cantor Fitzgerald and Wells Fargo projected meaningful upside for Snap, reinforcing investor optimism that improving operating trends could support further appreciation. Cantor Fitzgerald Forecast Wells Fargo Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $6.75, signaling valuation upside from recent trading levels. Citigroup Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reiterated a “market perform” rating, suggesting the firm sees balanced risk and reward rather than a decisive near-term catalyst. Citizens JMP Rating
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst downgrade led to an 8.1% decline in Snap shares, highlighting continued sensitivity to cautious Wall Street views despite the strong quarter. Snap Trading Down on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities issued a pessimistic forecast, adding to concerns that Snap’s earnings improvement may not yet represent a durable recovery. Rosenblatt Securities Forecast

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $5.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Snap presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.65.

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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