Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price Target Cut by Barclays

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $16.00 to $8.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 60.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Freedom Capital upgraded Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.31.

Snap Price Performance

Shares of SNAP traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.97. The company had a trading volume of 40,528,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,171,368. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.23 and a beta of 1.23. Snap has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $9.13.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 4.90% and a negative return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Snap will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 20,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.35, for a total transaction of $107,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 578,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,861.75. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $685,796.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,324,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,087,727.60. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 445,926 shares of company stock valued at $2,326,930. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Snap by 9.7% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,228,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,765,000 after buying an additional 375,301 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the third quarter worth $197,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the third quarter worth $130,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Snap by 21.3% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 158,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 27,797 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snap returned to net profitability and beat adjusted earnings expectations. Its 30 million paid subscribers also point to growing subscription revenue and a potential complement to advertising. Article: Snap Shares Fall More Than 10% as Revenue and User Growth Miss Forecasts Despite Higher Earnings Article: Snap Q3: The Potential Is There – The Conviction Isn’t
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders bought a high volume of Snap call options, suggesting some are positioning for a rebound; options activity is not a reliable indication of future performance. Article: Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Snap
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.72 billion but missed estimates, while daily active users also came in below expectations. The shortfalls raised concerns about the pace of Snap’s advertising recovery and overshadowed its earnings improvement. Article: Snap shares fall 13% as revenue and daily users miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts cut price targets, reinforcing a more cautious outlook: Citigroup and UBS lowered targets to $6 and kept neutral ratings; JPMorgan cut its target to $5 and maintained an underweight rating; Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $5 and stayed neutral. Barclays also halved its target to $8, though it retained an overweight rating. Citigroup ratings UBS ratings JPMorgan ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Snap also announced a change in how it measures user engagement, which may complicate comparisons with prior periods as investors assess user trends. Article: Snap tumbles on revenue, user growth miss; announces metric shift

About Snap

Snap Inc is a technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a visual messaging and social networking application. Snapchat enables users to communicate through photos, videos, messages and Stories, while offering creative tools such as augmented reality (AR) Lenses and filters. The platform also includes features such as Snap Map, Spotlight and content from publishers and creators.

Snap generates most of its revenue from digital advertising, including video, augmented reality and other advertising formats delivered across Snapchat.