Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $13.50. The stock had previously closed at $10.89, but opened at $11.53. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Snap shares last traded at $12.28, with a volume of 21,685,436 shares changing hands.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Snap presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric Young sold 114,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.11, for a total transaction of $1,039,423.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,041,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,710,096.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Snap news, CEO Evan Spiegel sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.85, for a total value of $1,327,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,327,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,451,419.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Young sold 114,097 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.11, for a total value of $1,039,423.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,041,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,710,096.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,490,617 shares of company stock valued at $13,183,890. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Snap during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Snap in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in Snap in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Snap by 354.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 3.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.69. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.01 and a beta of 1.01.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Snap had a negative return on equity of 42.84% and a negative net margin of 23.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.