Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CFO Douglas Hott Sells 131,884 Shares of Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $685,796.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,324,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,087,727.60. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Snap Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:SNAP opened at $5.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of -29.11 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.15. Snap Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $9.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.02. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Snap

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 shares for approximately $685,797 at an average price of $5.20, reducing his ownership by about 5.37%. The filing states that the shares were sold to cover tax-withholding obligations related to vested equity awards. He still owns more than 2.3 million shares. Snap CFO share sale article
• Neutral Sentiment: General Counsel Zachary Briers sold 136,504 shares for about $709,821 at $5.20 and an additional 67,540 shares for roughly $343,103 at $5.08. Both transactions were described as tax-related sales; Briers continued to own more than 2.3 million shares directly after the reported transactions. SEC insider ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Rebecca Morrow sold 17,336 shares valued at approximately $90,147, while insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 shares worth about $283,962. Both sales were also made to satisfy tax withholding requirements, and each executive retained a substantial position in Snap. SEC insider ownership filings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SNAP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $5.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.65.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Snap during the second quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in Snap by 104.0% during the second quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 61,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 31,357 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Snap in the second quarter worth approximately $1,675,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Snap by 52.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 30,561 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.