Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 40,670,093 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 30,265,061 shares.The stock last traded at $14.00 and had previously closed at $11.40.

The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 45.02% and a negative net margin of 26.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SNAP shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Snap from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $210,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,449,840.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Snap news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of Snap stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total value of $210,080.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 461,005 shares in the company, valued at $7,449,840.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 96,953 shares of Snap stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $1,065,513.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,534,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,856,232.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Snap by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,814,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,067,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,655 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Snap by 565.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 262,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 223,432 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Snap by 161.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Snap during the 3rd quarter worth $423,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in Snap by 191.7% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 415,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,703,000 after acquiring an additional 273,156 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.96 and a beta of 1.13.

Snap Company Profile

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.