Snap Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 155,956 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 83% compared to the typical volume of 85,228 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNAP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Snap from $5.00 to $5.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research lowered Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.65.

Snap Trading Up 7.1%

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $5.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of -32.91 and a beta of 1.03. Snap has a 1-year low of $3.81 and a 1-year high of $9.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.86 and a 200 day moving average of $5.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 14.61% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.Snap’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 67,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.08, for a total value of $343,103.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 2,356,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,972,498.28. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Douglas Hott sold 131,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $685,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,324,563 shares in the company, valued at $12,087,727.60. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 2,770,698 shares of company stock valued at $15,345,605 over the last quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Snap during the third quarter valued at about $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap by 874.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,239,000 after purchasing an additional 9,033,644 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Snap during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,300,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Snap by 268.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,623,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,968,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Snap by 1,191.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,903,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,330,000 after purchasing an additional 3,601,002 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.