Investors Purchase High Volume of Snap Call Options (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 105,767 call options on the company. This is an increase of 51% compared to the typical daily volume of 70,261 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other news, General Counsel Zachary Briers sold 11,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total value of $67,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 2,345,534 shares in the company, valued at $14,073,204. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 6,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.82, for a total transaction of $39,558.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,965,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,898,046. The trade was a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 445,926 shares of company stock worth $2,326,930.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 68.9% during the third 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 lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 6,678.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 6,678 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 52.7% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Snap by 135.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Snap during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SNAP shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $5.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Snap from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Snap from $6.50 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.71.

Snap Stock Up 5.8%

NYSE SNAP traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,914,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,407,129. Snap has a fifty-two week low of $3.81 and a fifty-two week high of $9.13. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of -32.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.43.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 4.90% and a negative return on equity of 14.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap Company Profile

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.