Robert Murphy Sells 1,000,000 Shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 49,313,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,321,834. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Snap Price Performance

Shares of SNAP traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.24. The company had a trading volume of 87,764,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,501,992. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.41 and a beta of 0.83. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.09 and a 12-month high of $11.26.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative return on equity of 20.72% and a negative net margin of 7.76%.The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Snap from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Securities upgraded Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. New Street Research lowered shares of Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $7.30 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.63.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Snap by 327.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 194,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 149,286 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap during the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 7,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. Cogent Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the fourth quarter worth about $407,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.