Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $13.50. The stock had previously closed at $10.89, but opened at $11.53. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Snap shares last traded at $12.28, with a volume of 21,685,436 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SNAP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Snap from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.25.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.69, for a total value of $8,690,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 58,553,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $508,832,634.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Snap news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.69, for a total transaction of $8,690,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 58,553,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $508,832,634.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 97,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.29, for a total value of $906,778.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,287,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,255,241.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,490,617 shares of company stock valued at $13,183,890. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Snap in the second quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Snap during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Snap in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snap Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 3.98.

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

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.