Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $6.00 to $5.00. The stock had previously closed at $5.92, but opened at $5.29. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Snap shares last traded at $5.1880, with a volume of 13,129,486 shares changing hands.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SNAP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Snap from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $7.50 price objective on Snap in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Snap from $6.40 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Snap from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Snap from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 136,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $709,820.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 2,424,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,606,521.20. This trade represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total value of $283,961.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,972,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,854,904.40. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 445,926 shares of company stock worth $2,326,930. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Snap News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snapchat+ subscriptions reached 30 million, up 5 million since February, supporting the company’s efforts to build revenue beyond advertising. Reports also described improved earnings and a return to net profitability, though earnings comparisons varied by source. Snapchat surpasses 30M paid subscribers
• Neutral Sentiment: Snap forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $1.95 billion to $1.99 billion. The company also announced a change in how it measures user engagement, which could make comparisons with past user metrics less straightforward. Snap shares fall over 10% on third-quarter earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $1.72 billion, up 14% year over year but below the $1.73 billion estimate; daily active users also missed forecasts. The shortfall renewed concerns about the pace of Snap’s advertising recovery and weighed on investor confidence. Snap stock falls as revenue and user growth miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target from $6 to $5 and maintained a neutral rating, signaling reduced upside expectations. Cantor Fitzgerald price target update

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Snap by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Snap by 6,678.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 6,678 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp lifted its stake in Snap by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Snap by 135.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Snap Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.42. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of -28.59 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 2.94.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 4.90% and a negative return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Snap

Snap Inc is a technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a visual messaging and social networking application. Snapchat enables users to communicate through photos, videos, messages and Stories, while offering creative tools such as augmented reality (AR) Lenses and filters. The platform also includes features such as Snap Map, Spotlight and content from publishers and creators.

Snap generates most of its revenue from digital advertising, including video, augmented reality and other advertising formats delivered across Snapchat.