Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Snap from “buy” to “hold,” adding to a generally cautious analyst view. MarketBeat shows the stock’s consensus rating is also “hold,” with a consensus price target of $7.91.
• Snap’s latest earnings were mixed: it reported a $0.05 per-share loss, missing the $0.09 EPS estimate, while revenue of $1.53 billion matched expectations and rose 12.2% year over year.
• Insider selling picked up, including CTO Robert C. Murphy’s sale of 2 million shares, and insiders sold a total of 2.57 million shares over the last 90 days. Despite that, several institutional investors recently increased their stakes in the company.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SNAP. Evercore restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Snap from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $8.00 price target on Snap in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $7.00 price target on Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.91.

Snap Trading Up 3.1%

Snap stock opened at $5.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.50. The company has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.02 and a beta of 1.05. Snap has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $10.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Snap will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total value of $10,880,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 47,012,324 shares in the company, valued at $255,747,042.56. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total value of $77,545.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 466,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,193,405.40. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,565,573 shares of company stock worth $13,579,781 over the last ninety days. 22.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 874.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company's stock worth $81,239,000 after acquiring an additional 9,033,644 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,071,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company's stock worth $79,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 537.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,150,134 shares of the company's stock worth $33,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499,578 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by 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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