Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Shares Gap Up to $11.16

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.16, but opened at $11.53. Snap shares last traded at $11.05, with a volume of 9,458,310 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Snap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $10.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Snap from $9.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Snap from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.86.

Snap Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.20 and a 200-day moving average of $12.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.04. Snap had a negative return on equity of 47.47% and a negative net margin of 28.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 2,442 shares of Snap stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $26,862.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 493,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,924. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Eric Young sold 120,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.13, for a total transaction of $1,340,853.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,540,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,409,682.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 2,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $26,862.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 493,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,423,924. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 374,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 22,483 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap during the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,000. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Snap by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 333,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 31,998 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Snap by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 206,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Snap by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 37,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the last quarter. 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.