JMP Securities Upgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to Outperform

JMP Securities upgraded shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $17.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Snap to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Snap from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Snap in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.89.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP opened at $10.14 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 3.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of -14.08 and a beta of 1.01. Snap has a one year low of $8.29 and a one year high of $17.90.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 42.84% and a negative net margin of 23.49%. On average, analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.69, for a total value of $8,690,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 58,553,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,832,634.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. In other news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.69, for a total transaction of $8,690,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 58,553,813 shares in the company, valued at $508,832,634.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total transaction of $239,040.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 463,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,698.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,508,617 shares of company stock valued at $13,422,930. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Snap in the third quarter worth $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Snap during the second quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Snap by 354.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Snap in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 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.