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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Hold — 29 analysts cover Snap with a consensus "Hold" rating (3 sell, 20 hold, 5 buy, 1 strong buy) and an average 1-year target of about $8.17.
• Significant insider selling — CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares at $5.36 and CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares at $4.59, with insiders offloading 2,565,573 shares worth $13.33 million over the last quarter.
• Earnings mixed: Snap reported Q EPS of $0.03 (missing the $0.15 consensus) while revenue was $1.72 billion (slightly above estimates); the company posted negative net margin and analysts expect about -$0.14 EPS for the current year.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.1667.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SNAP. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Loop Capital set a $8.00 price target on Snap in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Snap in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a "strong sell" rating for the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Snap from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 49,313,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,321,834. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $426,668.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,799,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,440,443.99. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,565,573 shares of company stock valued at $13,329,781.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Snap by 92.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new position in Snap during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in Snap by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Snap during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Snap by 561.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Snap stock opened at $6.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.27 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.75. Snap has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $10.41.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 20.72% and a negative net margin of 7.76%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Snap will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.