Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shot up 2.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $8.04 and last traded at $8.19. Approximately 3,801,158 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 27,337,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SNAP shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Snap from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.80.

Snap Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.18 and a beta of 0.92.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative return on equity of 25.67% and a negative net margin of 13.02%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 22,720 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.58, for a total transaction of $194,937.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,541,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,386,198.70. The trade was a 0.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total value of $206,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 480,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,520,922.02. This trade represents a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,356,523 shares of company stock valued at $12,710,077 in the last three months. 22.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Snap by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,601,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,095,000 after purchasing an additional 389,812 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Snap by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,538,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Snap by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Company Profile

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.