Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 40,670,093 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 30,265,061 shares.The stock last traded at $14.00 and had previously closed at $11.40.

The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.10. Snap had a negative net margin of 28.71% and a negative return on equity of 47.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNAP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Snap from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Snap from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Snap from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 96,953 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $1,065,513.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,534,689 shares in the company, valued at $27,856,232.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $207,540.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 474,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,474,582.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 96,953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $1,065,513.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,534,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,856,232.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Snap by 2,580.4% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Snap by 161.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Snap during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in Snap by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 4,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snap Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a current ratio of 4.39.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.