Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Trading Down 8.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) dropped 8.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.14 and last traded at $4.0950. Approximately 27,630,619 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 48,679,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SNAP. B. Riley Financial upgraded Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Snap from $9.50 to $6.40 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Snap from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.17.

Snap Trading Down 10.8%

The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of -14.80 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.12.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 27,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $127,340.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,130,734 shares in the company, valued at $23,550,069.06. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $77,545.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 466,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,405.40. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,570,641 shares of company stock worth $13,436,343. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Snap by 573.6% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 967,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,460,000 after acquiring an additional 823,900 shares in the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in Snap during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,256,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Snap by 433.6% during the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,042,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,041,000 after purchasing an additional 847,447 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted 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 worth $18,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,677 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Snap by 54.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 749,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,780,000 after purchasing an additional 264,156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.