Morgan Stanley Increases Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Price Target to $12.00

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 19.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SNAP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Snap from $22.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.56.

Snap Trading Up 30.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SNAP traded up $3.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.88. The stock had a trading volume of 98,003,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,036,756. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.79. The company has a quick ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 1.13. Snap has a fifty-two week low of $7.86 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.10. Snap had a negative net margin of 28.71% and a negative return on equity of 47.47%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total value of $210,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Evan Spiegel sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $1,666,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,627,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,305,346.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $210,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in Snap by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 23,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Snap by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 191,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Compass Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Snap by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Snap by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of Snap by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 238,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. 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.