Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SNAP shares. Roth Mkm set a $7.00 price objective on Snap in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Arete Research set a $7.30 price target on shares of Snap and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

Snap Stock Down 11.0%

SNAP opened at $4.00 on Friday. Snap has a one year low of $3.90 and a one year high of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a current ratio of 3.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.80 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.10.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In related news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 27,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $127,340.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,130,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,550,069.06. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 49,313,775 shares in the company, valued at $264,321,834. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,570,641 shares of company stock valued at $13,436,343. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Snap by 573.6% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 967,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,460,000 after buying an additional 823,900 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter worth $10,256,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 433.6% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,042,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,041,000 after acquiring an additional 847,447 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 94.1% in the second quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,107,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 54.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 749,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,780,000 after acquiring an additional 264,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.