Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Stock Price

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $8.00 to $6.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SNAP. Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Snap and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Snap from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America raised Snap from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Snap from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have issued 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 an average price target of $8.09.

Snap Price Performance

Snap stock opened at $4.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.91. Snap has a one year low of $3.81 and a one year high of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 3.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 0.91.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 7.76% and a negative return on equity of 20.72%. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Snap will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 68,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.73, for a total transaction of $324,572.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,785,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,175,263.64. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $5,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 49,313,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,321,834. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,570,641 shares of company stock valued at $13,436,343. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Snap by 92.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in shares of Snap by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap by 561.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Snap in the third quarter worth $33,000. 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.