Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Lifted to “Buy” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a reduce rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SNAP. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Snap from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Snap from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Snap from $22.00 to $16.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $14.67.

Snap Trading Up 27.6 %

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $14.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.96 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.89. Snap has a twelve month low of $7.86 and a twelve month high of $17.90.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.10. Snap had a negative return on equity of 45.02% and a negative net margin of 26.99%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total value of $210,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $210,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan Spiegel sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $1,666,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,627,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,305,346.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Snap by 2,580.4% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Snap by 161.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Snap by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 4,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.