Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Snap, with 23 of 36 analysts recommending hold, 8 buy ratings, 2 strong buys and 3 sells. The average 12-month price target is $7.65, versus a recent share price of $5.24.
• Snap’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: adjusted EPS was a loss of $0.10 versus the $0.12 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.60 billion, up 18.9% year over year.
• Insiders sold 2.77 million shares worth approximately $15.35 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 47.52% of Snap’s outstanding stock.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirty-six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.6483.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price target on Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Snap from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Snap from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 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 transaction of $685,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,324,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,087,727.60. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.55, for a total transaction of $11,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 41,809,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,044,340.05. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,770,698 shares of company stock worth $15,345,605.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Saba Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Snap by 232.5% during the 1st quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,727,808 shares of the company's stock worth $21,748,000 after buying an additional 3,306,024 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Snap during the first quarter worth $25,300,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Snap by 1,191.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,903,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,330,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601,002 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,620,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company's stock.

Snap Stock Performance

NYSE SNAP opened at $5.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $4.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.13. Snap has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $9.28.

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

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