Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 24,395,103 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 25,392,574 shares.The stock last traded at $9.42 and had previously closed at $9.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SNAP shares. Guggenheim cut Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp cut Snap from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Snap from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Snap from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Snap currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.87.

Snap Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of -22.25 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.56 and its 200-day moving average is $10.80. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Snap

In other Snap news, CFO Derek Andersen sold 61,334 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 value of $664,860.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,564,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,636,307.40. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 14,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.83, for a total value of $125,235.89. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 2,256,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,921,371.83. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,350,523 shares of company stock valued at $12,698,797 in the last ninety days. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Snap by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,211,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386,519 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Snap in the third quarter worth approximately $2,349,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,639,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,245,000 after acquiring an additional 879,212 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new stake in shares of Snap during the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter worth $3,436,000. 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.