Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 74,940,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the March 15th total of 61,270,000 shares. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 31,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Snap Stock Up 4.9 %

SNAP traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.38. 16,945,391 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,657,830. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.94 and a beta of 0.92. Snap has a 1-year low of $7.08 and a 1-year high of $17.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $9.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.51. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative return on equity of 25.67% and a negative net margin of 13.02%. Sell-side analysts predict that Snap will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O'sullivan sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.60, for a total transaction of $206,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 507,660 shares in the company, valued at $4,365,876. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Young sold 102,152 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.84, for a total transaction of $1,107,327.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,443,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,326,661.96. This represents a 2.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,356,523 shares of company stock valued at $12,710,077 over the last quarter. 22.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Snap by 154,650.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Snap during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 155.4% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,489 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Snap during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNAP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Snap from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $13.50 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Snap from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $13.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Snap from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.49.

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.