Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price Up 6.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s share price rose 6.3% during trading on Monday after KeyCorp upgraded the stock from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock traded as high as $6.00 and last traded at $6.0060. Approximately 6,823,893 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 53,543,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.65.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on SNAP. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Snap from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Snap news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 28,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.02, for a total value of $168,909.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,102,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,718,109.52. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $426,668.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,799,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,440,443.99. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,565,573 shares of company stock valued at $13,329,781.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Snap by 92.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its position in shares of Snap by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Snap by 561.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Stock Up 7.3%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.66. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 20.72% and a negative net margin of 7.76%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.