Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Snap has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" across 35 brokerages, with 2 sells, 22 holds, 10 buys, and 1 strong buy. The average 12-month target price is about $7.91.
• In its latest quarterly results, Snap reported EPS of -$0.05, missing estimates by $0.14, while revenue of $1.53 billion matched expectations and rose 12.2% year over year.
• Shares opened at $5.53, below the consensus target, and the stock has traded between $3.81 and $10.41 over the past 12 months. Insider selling was notable, including sales by Ajit Mohan and CFO Derek Andersen.

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-two have given a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.9056.

A number of equities analysts have commented on SNAP shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Snap to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Arete Research set a $7.30 price target on shares of Snap and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Snap from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Snap Price Performance

SNAP stock opened at $5.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.19 and a 200-day moving average of $6.50. Snap has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $10.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.02 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 18.92% and a negative net margin of 6.72%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Snap will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In other Snap news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 28,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.02, for a total value of $168,909.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,102,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,718,109.52. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $426,668.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,799,661 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,565,573 shares of company stock worth $13,579,781. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Snap by 573.6% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 967,544 shares of the company's stock worth $7,460,000 after buying an additional 823,900 shares during the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the third quarter valued at about $10,256,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Snap by 433.6% during the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,042,873 shares of the company's stock worth $8,041,000 after purchasing an additional 847,447 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Snap by 54.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 749,724 shares of the company's stock worth $5,780,000 after purchasing an additional 264,156 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Snap by 76.3% during the third quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 628,109 shares of the company's stock worth $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 271,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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