Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Large Volume Increase After Strong Earnings

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 40,670,093 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 30,265,061 shares.The stock last traded at $14.00 and had previously closed at $11.40.

The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.10. Snap had a negative return on equity of 47.47% and a negative net margin of 28.71%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNAP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Snap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $10.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Snap from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Snap from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $207,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 474,812 shares in the company, valued at $5,474,582.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total value of $207,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 474,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,474,582.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 96,953 shares of Snap stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $1,065,513.47. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,534,689 shares in the company, valued at $27,856,232.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Investment Management LLC now owns 65,114,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,392,000 after purchasing an additional 12,452,415 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion acquired a new position in Snap during the 4th quarter worth about $110,103,000. Contrarius Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Snap during the 4th quarter worth about $80,644,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Snap by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,317,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,503,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TB Alternative Assets Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Snap by 144.5% during the first quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. now owns 5,094,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011,400 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.79.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.