Insider Selling: Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Sells 2,000,000 Shares of Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total value of $10,880,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 47,012,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $255,747,042.56. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Snap Stock Up 3.1%

SNAP stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $5.53. 37,901,057 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,503,608. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $10.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. The stock has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Snap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC cut Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth about $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Snap by 874.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,239,000 after purchasing an additional 9,033,644 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,071,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Snap by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582,223 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Snap by 537.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,150,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,499,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.