Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

SNAP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial initiated coverage on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.65.

Snap Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE SNAP opened at $5.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Snap has a twelve month low of $3.81 and a twelve month high of $9.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of -29.78 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.91 and its 200 day moving average is $5.27.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.55, for a total transaction of $11,100,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 41,809,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,044,340.05. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $93,682.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 512,811 shares in the company, valued at $2,871,741.60. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,868,059 shares of company stock valued at $26,955,631.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Paragon Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Snap during the second quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Snap by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 352,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 61,700 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Snap by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 188,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,601,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.