Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on SNAP. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Snap from $6.40 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Snap from $6.50 to $6.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Snap from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.31.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $4.97. The stock had a trading volume of 40,528,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,171,368. Snap has a 52 week low of $3.81 and a 52 week high of $9.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.23 and a beta of 1.23.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Snap will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $283,961.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,972,097 shares in the company, valued at $25,854,904.40. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 136,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total value of $709,820.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 2,424,331 shares in the company, valued at $12,606,521.20. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 445,926 shares of company stock worth $2,326,930. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Snap by 278.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,771,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,766,000 after purchasing an additional 10,868,392 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Snap during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,300,000. Saba Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Snap by 232.5% during the first quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,727,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,748,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306,024 shares during the last quarter. Riposte Capital LLC purchased a new position in Snap in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,520,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in Snap by 175.4% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,197,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,469,000 after buying an additional 762,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Snap

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snap returned to net profitability and beat adjusted earnings expectations. Its 30 million paid subscribers also point to growing subscription revenue and a potential complement to advertising. Article: Snap Shares Fall More Than 10% as Revenue and User Growth Miss Forecasts Despite Higher Earnings Article: Snap Q3: The Potential Is There – The Conviction Isn’t
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders bought a high volume of Snap call options, suggesting some are positioning for a rebound; options activity is not a reliable indication of future performance. Article: Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Snap
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.72 billion but missed estimates, while daily active users also came in below expectations. The shortfalls raised concerns about the pace of Snap’s advertising recovery and overshadowed its earnings improvement. Article: Snap shares fall 13% as revenue and daily users miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts cut price targets, reinforcing a more cautious outlook: Citigroup and UBS lowered targets to $6 and kept neutral ratings; JPMorgan cut its target to $5 and maintained an underweight rating; Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $5 and stayed neutral. Barclays also halved its target to $8, though it retained an overweight rating. Citigroup ratings UBS ratings JPMorgan ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Snap also announced a change in how it measures user engagement, which may complicate comparisons with prior periods as investors assess user trends. Article: Snap tumbles on revenue, user growth miss; announces metric shift

About Snap

Snap Inc is a technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a visual messaging and social networking application. Snapchat enables users to communicate through photos, videos, messages and Stories, while offering creative tools such as augmented reality (AR) Lenses and filters. The platform also includes features such as Snap Map, Spotlight and content from publishers and creators.

Snap generates most of its revenue from digital advertising, including video, augmented reality and other advertising formats delivered across Snapchat.