Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CFO Sells $650,360.34 in Stock

Key Points

• Snap CFO Douglas Hott sold 114,702 shares on May 19 for about $650,360 at an average price of $5.67. The company said the sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations tied to equity vesting.
• Hott also sold 124,209 shares the day before, continuing a recent run of insider selling at Snap. The article notes that several other insiders have also sold shares, though these moves were largely linked to tax withholding.
• Snap reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue of $1.53 billion matching expectations but EPS of -$0.05 missing analyst estimates. Analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average, with a target price of $7.91.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) CFO Douglas Hott sold 114,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.67, for a total value of $650,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,456,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,928,054.49. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Douglas Hott also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Douglas Hott sold 124,209 shares of Snap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $695,570.40.

Snap Stock Performance

SNAP traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $5.62. 25,514,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,708,984. The company's 50-day moving average price is $5.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.44. Snap Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.81 and a fifty-two week high of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 3.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a PE ratio of -23.40 and a beta of 1.05.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative return on equity of 18.92% and a negative net margin of 6.72%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Snap from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Snap from $9.50 to $6.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, HSBC cut Snap from a "hold" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Snap by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter valued at about $136,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of Snap by 104.0% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 61,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 31,357 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,675,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Snap by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 30,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Snap

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snap appointed Luke Wood, the former President of Beats by Dr. Dre and former Apple executive, to its board of directors. Investors may view the hire as a positive signal for product, brand, and consumer-tech strategy. Luke Wood Joins Snap Inc. Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Snap’s latest earnings call was described as a “cautious comeback,” suggesting management may have sounded more measured on the recovery path rather than issuing a clearly bullish surprise. Snap Inc. Earnings Call Signals Cautious Comeback
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders, including CFO Douglas Hott, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers, CAO Rebecca Morrow, and insider Ajit Mohan, sold shares in recent days. The company said the transactions were tied to tax withholding on equity vesting, which makes them less alarming, but the breadth of selling can still pressure sentiment. SEC filing for CFO sale

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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