Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy Sells 2,000,000 Shares of Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.55, for a total value of $11,100,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 41,809,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,044,340.05. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Snap Stock Up 2.0%

SNAP stock opened at $5.33 on Friday. Snap Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.81 and a twelve month high of $9.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.58 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.29.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.02. Snap had a negative net margin of 4.90% and a negative return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 92.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Snap during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in Snap by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap by 561.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SNAP. HSBC lowered Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Snap from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial assumed coverage on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.65.

Key Stories Impacting Snap

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded Snap from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding a bullish endorsement following the company’s recent earnings performance. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Snap’s second-quarter results strengthened hopes for a turnaround. Revenue reached $1.60 billion, ahead of expectations, while the adjusted loss per share was narrower than analysts anticipated; revenue also increased 18.9% year over year. Snap: Strong Q2 Earnings Bolster Hopes Of A Turnaround
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from Cantor Fitzgerald and Wells Fargo projected meaningful upside for Snap, reinforcing investor optimism that improving operating trends could support further appreciation. Cantor Fitzgerald Forecast Wells Fargo Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $6.75, signaling valuation upside from recent trading levels. Citigroup Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reiterated a “market perform” rating, suggesting the firm sees balanced risk and reward rather than a decisive near-term catalyst. Citizens JMP Rating
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst downgrade led to an 8.1% decline in Snap shares, highlighting continued sensitivity to cautious Wall Street views despite the strong quarter. Snap Trading Down on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities issued a pessimistic forecast, adding to concerns that Snap’s earnings improvement may not yet represent a durable recovery. Rosenblatt Securities Forecast

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.