Arete Research Upgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to “Strong-Buy”

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Arete Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SNAP. Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.50 price objective on Snap and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.63.

Snap Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of SNAP opened at $5.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.74. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.41 and a beta of 0.83. Snap 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Snap will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.27, for a total transaction of $5,270,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 50,613,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $266,734,604.79. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 109,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total transaction of $912,162.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,326,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,425,520.34. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,393,341 shares of company stock worth $13,799,210.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Snap by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 219,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 67,297 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Snap by 327.8% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 194,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 149,286 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Snap by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 7,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Company Profile

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.