Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Upgraded by HSBC to Buy

HSBC upgraded shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a reduce rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $22.00 to $16.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.67.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SNAP opened at $14.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.84. Snap has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $17.90. The stock has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a PE ratio of -17.94 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In other Snap news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $210,080.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now 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 the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total value of $210,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 461,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,449,840.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $207,540.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 474,812 shares in the company, valued at $5,474,582.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 470,482 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,091. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNAP. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Snap by 2,580.4% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Snap by 161.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Snap by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 4,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently 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.