Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy Sells 1,000,000 Shares

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $5,360,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 49,313,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,321,834. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Snap Stock Up 1.0%

SNAP opened at $5.24 on Wednesday. Snap Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.09 and a 52 week high of $11.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of -19.41 and a beta of 0.83.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released 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). Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SNAP. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, B.Riley Securit raised Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,251,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,100,000 after acquiring an additional 641,271 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Snap by 1.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 87,272,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,448 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Snap by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,780,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,285,000 after purchasing an additional 95,989 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Snap during the third quarter worth $176,697,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Snap by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,525,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,711,000 after purchasing an additional 469,795 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.