Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price Down 3% on Insider Selling

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) traded down 3% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $15.71 and last traded at $15.77. 7,709,426 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 28,284,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.26.

Specifically, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.27, for a total value of $14,270,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 59,894,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $854,699,723.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Joanna Coles sold 3,950 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.17, for a total transaction of $59,921.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,283.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.27, for a total value of $14,270,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 59,894,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $854,699,723.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,372,583 shares of company stock worth $19,934,275.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Snap from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of Snap in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.82.

Snap Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 3.76. The stock has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of -19.44 and a beta of 1.03.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.10. Snap had a negative return on equity of 46.62% and a negative net margin of 26.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Equities analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Snap by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 23,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 41,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 2.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 35,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 19,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.