Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price Up 6% – Here’s Why

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s share price shot up 6% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $6.22 and last traded at $6.2120. 13,767,570 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 45,403,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Snap from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.65.

Snap Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 2.94. The firm has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.86 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.26.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Robert Murphy sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.55, for a total transaction of $11,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 41,809,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,044,340.05. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 54,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $283,961.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,972,097 shares in the company, valued at $25,854,904.40. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 2,445,926 shares of company stock worth $13,426,930 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Snap by 6,678.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 6,678 shares during the period. NFSG Corp lifted its position in shares of Snap by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 135.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Snap during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Snap in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

About Snap

Snap Inc is a technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a visual communication platform that enables users to share photos, videos, messages and other content. Snapchat includes features such as Stories, Spotlight for short-form video, Snap Map, augmented reality (AR) Lenses and Bitmoji digital avatars.

The company primarily generates revenue through digital advertising, including advertising formats integrated into Snapchat’s content and communication experiences. Snap also offers subscription services through Snapchat+, develops AR-related products and services, and has introduced hardware products such as Spectacles, smart glasses designed to support augmented reality experiences.

Founded in 2011, the company was initially known as Snapchat Inc and adopted the name Snap Inc in 2016.