Snap Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 222,358 call options on the company. This is an increase of 55% compared to the typical daily volume of 143,139 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Snap news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 62,868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total transaction of $524,319.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,030,301 shares in the company, valued at $25,272,710.34. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 109,372 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total transaction of $912,162.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,326,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,425,520.34. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,393,341 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,210 over the last quarter. 22.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Snap by 9.2% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Snap by 5.1% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Snap by 12.8% during the second quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 12,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in Snap by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 115,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Snap by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 414,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,195,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Key Snap News

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue grew ~10% to roughly $1.7–$1.72B and the company reported a meaningful rise in net income (about $45M), signaling improved profitability and margin expansion after a strategic shift toward “profitable growth.” Snap Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some outlets reported Q4 EPS that topped estimates, which supports a narrative that cost discipline and revenue diversification are starting to show in the P&L. This helped lift sentiment into and after the print. Snap (SNAP) Tops Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — large buy volume in call options — indicates some traders are positioning for upside, which can amplify intraday moves. MarketBeat Options Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Management emphasizes a strategic pivot: diversifying revenue beyond ads (subscriptions, eventual hardware/Specs) and cutting marketing to focus on profitable growth. This should support margins long term but adds execution risk near term. As it preps Specs for the masses, Snap’s Q4 shows revenue growth but fewer daily users
• Negative Sentiment: Daily active users fell by ~3M to ~474M in Q4, which weakens the growth story and raises advertiser concerns about engagement and long‑term ad monetization. Snap Q4 Users Dip As It Trims Marketing To Focus On Profit, Shares Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 revenue guidance ($1.50B–$1.53B) came in below the prior Street estimate (~$1.55B), which introduces near‑term downside risk for revenue expectations and prompted some selling pressure. Snap shares rise on fourth-quarter earnings that beat on sales
• Negative Sentiment: Snap said its outlook excludes potential sales from its integration with Perplexity because a broader rollout hasn’t been agreed, delaying expected upside from that AI partnership. Snap Sales Rise But Perplexity Deal Is Delayed
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting headlines on EPS (some reports say an earnings beat, others show a miss) likely increased intraday volatility and investor uncertainty; this mixed messaging can amplify swings as traders digest the metrics. Snap (SNAP) Reports Q4 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Snap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SNAP opened at $5.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Snap has a fifty-two week low of $5.86 and a fifty-two week high of $11.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.89. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of -20.41 and a beta of 0.83.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative net margin of 8.60% and a negative return on equity of 21.61%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Snap will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on SNAP shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Snap from $8.70 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Exane BNP Paribas upgraded Snap to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Snap from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Snap from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.83.

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.