Insider Selling: Snap (NYSE:SNAP) General Counsel Sells 129,493 Shares of Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) General Counsel Zachary Briers sold 129,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $725,160.80. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 2,644,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,809,412.80. This represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Snap Stock Up 1.2%

Snap stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.62. 25,514,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,708,984. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.21 and a 200 day moving average of $6.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a current ratio of 3.53. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.40 and a beta of 1.05. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.81 and a 12-month high of $10.41.

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised Snap from an “overweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial raised Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Roth Mkm set a $7.00 target price on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC lowered shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in Snap by 573.6% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 967,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,460,000 after purchasing an additional 823,900 shares during the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Snap in the third quarter worth approximately $10,256,000. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 433.6% during the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,042,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,041,000 after purchasing an additional 847,447 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 54.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 749,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,780,000 after purchasing an additional 264,156 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 76.3% during the third quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 628,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,843,000 after purchasing an additional 271,893 shares during the period. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.