Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) was upgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

SNAP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Snap from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Snap from $22.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities upped 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, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Snap from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.67.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP stock opened at $14.55 on Friday. Snap has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $17.90. The stock has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of -17.96 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.86.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 26.99% and a negative return on equity of 45.02%. On average, equities analysts expect that Snap will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 9,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total transaction of $104,560.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 495,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,520,159.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 461,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 9,386 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total transaction of $104,560.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 495,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,520,159.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091 in the last quarter. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNAP. SRS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Snap by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Investment Management LLC now owns 65,114,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,392,000 after acquiring an additional 12,452,415 shares in the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion bought a new position in Snap in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,103,000. Contrarius Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Snap in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,644,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Snap by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,317,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,613,729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,503,230 shares during the period. Finally, TB Alternative Assets Ltd. boosted its stake in Snap by 144.5% in the 1st quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. now owns 5,094,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011,400 shares during the period. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.