Brokerages Set Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Price Target at $7.79

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-four have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.4804.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SNAP shares. HSBC lowered shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Snap from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial assumed coverage on Snap in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 343,945 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total transaction of $2,022,396.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,963,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,185,856.28. The trade was a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $93,682.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 512,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,871,741.60. The trade was a 3.16% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,907,554 shares of company stock worth $16,093,619. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Snap by 13.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Snap during the 2nd quarter worth about $136,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 104.0% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 61,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 31,357 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Snap in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,675,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 30,561 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Snap Price Performance

Shares of SNAP stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,235,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,598,252. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.75. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.56 and a beta of 1.05. Snap has a 1-year low of $3.81 and a 1-year high of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Snap will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Snap Company Profile

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.