Insider Selling: Snap (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Sells $5,360,000.00 in Stock

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) CTO Robert Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 49,313,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,321,834. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Snap Trading Down 3.6%

Snap stock opened at $4.81 on Friday. Snap Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.72 and a 52 week high of $11.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.81 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a current ratio of 3.56.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SNAP shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial upgraded Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, New Street Research cut Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 31.7% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,208,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,574,000 after buying an additional 1,013,757 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,107,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,677 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Snap in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,723,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Snap during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,256,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Snap by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 387,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 130,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Company Profile

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.