Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Freedom Capital

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

SNAP has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn 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 note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Snap in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.91.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $5.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.52. Snap has a 12 month low of $3.81 and a 12 month high of $10.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Snap news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 92,956 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $426,668.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,799,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,440,443.99. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 28,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.02, for a total transaction of $168,909.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,102,676 shares in the company, valued at $30,718,109.52. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 565,573 shares of company stock valued at $2,699,781. 22.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Snap by 700.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 180,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 157,920 shares during the period. Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the 1st quarter valued at $1,956,000. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of Snap by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 124,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 9,530 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 302.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 389,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 293,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in shares of Snap in the 1st quarter worth about $59,000. 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.