Snap Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 117,569 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the typical volume of 81,936 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on SNAP shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Snap from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 2,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total value of $32,169.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 430,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,922,082.88. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Young sold 112,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.55, for a total transaction of $1,181,811.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,791,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,445,556.40. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,451,618 shares of company stock valued at $17,560,157 over the last three months. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Snap during the third quarter worth $29,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Snap by 141.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Snap during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Stock Performance

NYSE:SNAP traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.56. 27,527,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,898,426. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.65 and a beta of 0.98. Snap has a 52-week low of $8.29 and a 52-week high of $17.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Snap had a negative return on equity of 35.60% and a negative net margin of 18.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.