Swiss National Bank Boosts Position in Snap Inc. $SNAP

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,160,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 209,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Snap were worth $14,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Snap by 92.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners grew its stake in Snap by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Snap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Snap by 561.4% during the 4th 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 period. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snap Trading Down 1.5%

SNAP opened at $4.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Snap Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.81 and a 12 month high of $9.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.52.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. Snap’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Snap Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SNAP. TD Cowen began coverage on Snap in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays upgraded Snap from an “overweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.40 price target on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap news, CFO Douglas Hott sold 114,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.67, for a total value of $650,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,456,447 shares in the company, valued at $13,928,054.49. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 6,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.58, for a total value of $38,630.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,050,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,184,401.44. The trade was a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,868,059 shares of company stock worth $15,855,631. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Snap 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.