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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

SNAP has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Snap from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Snap from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.23.

Snap Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SNAP opened at $4.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.07 and its 200 day moving average is $5.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of -18.10 and a beta of 1.05. Snap has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $9.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Snap will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In related news, CFO Douglas Hott sold 124,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $695,570.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,571,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,398,434.40. This represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 44,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $250,796.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,057,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,324,189.60. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 2,868,059 shares of company stock valued at $15,855,631 in the last 90 days.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Snap during the third quarter worth approximately $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Snap by 874.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,239,000 after purchasing an additional 9,033,644 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,300,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 1,191.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,903,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,330,000 after purchasing an additional 3,601,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582,223 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.