Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Snap Inc. experienced a significant trading volume surge, with approximately 68.85 million shares traded, an increase of 62% compared to the previous session.
• Analysts have mixed views on Snap's stock, with target price changes including a raise from $8.00 to $11.00 by Wells Fargo and downgrades from Citigroup.
• Insider selling has been noted, with significant shares sold by executives, including Ajit Mohan, who sold over 184,000 shares at an average price of $7.18.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 68,854,116 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session's volume of 42,529,195 shares.The stock last traded at $8.23 and had previously closed at $7.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Snap from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Snap from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Snap from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Snap from $6.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.84.

Snap Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.38. The company has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.67 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.88, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 23.32% and a negative net margin of 9.69%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. Snap has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap news, General Counsel Michael J. O'sullivan sold 68,705 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.18, for a total transaction of $493,301.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,015,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,472,180.32. The trade was a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 60,966 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.17, for a total value of $437,126.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,143,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,538,550.84. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,510,532 shares of company stock valued at $11,650,269. Insiders own 22.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Snap by 8.3% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Snap by 36.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 12,239 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Snap by 94.1% in the second quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,107,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the second quarter valued at about $129,000. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.