Snap (NYSE:SNAP) General Counsel Sells $406,794.15 in Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) General Counsel Zachary Briers sold 71,745 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.67, for a total value of $406,794.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,572,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,587,736.31. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Snap Price Performance

SNAP traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $5.62. The stock had a trading volume of 25,514,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,708,984. Snap Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.81 and a fifty-two week high of $10.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.21 and a 200-day moving average of $6.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.40 and a beta of 1.05.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Snap in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Snap by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 227,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 18,700 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Snap by 135.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Riposte Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Snap in the 1st quarter worth $5,520,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Snap by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 338,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 96,495 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Snap News

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Snap appointed Luke Wood, the former President of Beats by Dr. Dre and former Apple executive, to its board of directors. Investors may view the hire as a positive signal for product, brand, and consumer-tech strategy. Luke Wood Joins Snap Inc. Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Snap’s latest earnings call was described as a “cautious comeback,” suggesting management may have sounded more measured on the recovery path rather than issuing a clearly bullish surprise. Snap Inc. Earnings Call Signals Cautious Comeback
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders, including CFO Douglas Hott, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers, CAO Rebecca Morrow, and insider Ajit Mohan, sold shares in recent days. The company said the transactions were tied to tax withholding on equity vesting, which makes them less alarming, but the breadth of selling can still pressure sentiment. SEC filing for CFO sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SNAP shares. B. Riley Financial raised Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.91.

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.