IVY Lane Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Snap Inc. $SNAP

IVY Lane Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 525,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,237,000. Snap comprises about 5.4% of IVY Lane Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Snap during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $176,697,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Snap during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,071,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 53.3% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582,223 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 537.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,150,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,499,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 895.9% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,560,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,202,737 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap Stock Down 10.2%

NYSE SNAP opened at $5.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Snap Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.81 and a 52 week high of $10.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.12.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative return on equity of 18.92% and a negative net margin of 6.72%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. Snap’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total value of $93,682.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 512,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,871,741.60. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 343,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total value of $2,022,396.60. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,963,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,185,856.28. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,900,631 shares of company stock valued at $16,054,989 over the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.50 to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Freedom Capital cut shares of Snap from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Snap from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.91.

Snap 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.