Rothschild & Co Redburn Upgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to Buy

Key Points

• Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Snap from "neutral" to "buy" and set a $10.00 price target, implying roughly a 77% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall — MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Hold" with an average target of $8.08, as other firms both raised and cut their targets in recent reports.
• Snap recently missed EPS estimates ($0.03 vs. $0.15 consensus) despite revenue rising 10.2% to $1.72 billion, and insiders have sold about 2.56 million shares (~$13.3 million) in the past three months.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday. The firm currently has a $10.00 target price on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn's price objective suggests a potential upside of 77.15% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial upgraded Snap from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Snap from $9.50 to $6.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Snap from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.08.

Snap Price Performance

NYSE SNAP opened at $5.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of -20.91 and a beta of 0.91. Snap has a 52 week low of $3.81 and a 52 week high of $10.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.67.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Snap will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In related news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 134,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $633,113.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 2,854,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,414,213.60. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $426,668.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,799,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,440,443.99. This trade represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,565,573 shares of company stock valued at $13,329,781.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Snap by 4.6% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 215,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 9,386 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the 1st quarter worth about $77,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 241.0% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 41,063 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Snap during the first quarter valued at about $353,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Snap in the first quarter worth about $514,000. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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