Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Snap (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 151,680 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the average volume of 112,133 call options.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNAP traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.49. 54,577,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,564,660. Snap has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $10.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.88 and a 200 day moving average of $6.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 3.56. The company has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of -20.31 and a beta of 0.91.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. Snap’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Snap will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $426,668.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,799,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,440,443.99. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 119,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $560,893.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,158,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,244,841.90. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,570,641 shares of company stock valued at $13,436,343 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Snap by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,251,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,100,000 after acquiring an additional 641,271 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Snap by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,452,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,543 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Snap by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,780,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,285,000 after purchasing an additional 95,989 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Snap during the third quarter worth about $176,697,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,525,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after purchasing an additional 469,795 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SNAP. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Snap currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.06.

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.