Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Down 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s stock price fell 4.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $5.13 and last traded at $5.1510. 4,393,104 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 50,457,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNAP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, May 18th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Snap from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.40 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.91.

Snap Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.59 and its 200 day moving average is $6.19. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of -21.69 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 18.92% and a negative net margin of 6.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.44, for a total transaction of $10,880,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 47,012,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $255,747,042.56. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 129,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $725,160.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 2,644,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,809,412.80. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 3,021,330 shares of company stock worth $16,608,998 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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 made changes to their positions in SNAP. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter worth $136,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Snap by 104.0% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 61,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 31,357 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter worth $1,675,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Snap by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 30,561 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.