Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Snap Inc. experienced a significant increase in trading volume with approximately 140.8 million shares exchanged, up 201% from the prior session.
• Research analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Snap, with a target price range between $9.00 and $10.00 after recent downgrades.
• Insiders, including CFO Derek Andersen and CTO Robert C. Murphy, sold over 1.5 million shares of Snap stock in several recent transactions, indicating potential concerns about the company's outlook.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 140,771,459 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 201% from the previous session's volume of 46,708,520 shares.The stock last traded at $8.13 and had previously closed at $8.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SNAP. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Snap from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.84.

Snap Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.83 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $8.06 and its 200-day moving average is $8.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 3.88.

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

Insider Activity at Snap

In other Snap news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 60,966 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.17, for a total value of $437,126.22. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $7,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 53,215,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $415,078,747.20. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,510,532 shares of company stock valued at $11,650,269 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Snap by 154,650.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,095 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 169.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 155.4% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company's stock.

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.

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