Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.98, but opened at $10.21. Snap shares last traded at $10.38, with a volume of 5,731,133 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNAP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Snap from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Snap from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Snap in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.89.

Snap Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.71.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. Snap had a negative net margin of 23.49% and a negative return on equity of 42.84%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 8,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.10, for a total transaction of $81,199.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 472,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,298,885.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 97,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.29, for a total value of $906,778.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,287,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,255,241.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 8,923 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.10, for a total transaction of $81,199.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 472,405 shares in the company, valued at $4,298,885.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,510,352 shares of company stock valued at $13,446,353. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Snap by 354.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

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.