Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Snap (NYSE:SNAP)

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 128,528 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 87,999 call options.

Snap Stock Performance

Shares of SNAP opened at $9.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.38 and a 200 day moving average of $10.77. Snap has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $17.33.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 25.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Snap from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Snap in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Snap from $13.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Snap news, SVP Eric Young sold 102,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.84, for a total value of $1,107,327.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,443,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,326,661.96. The trade was a 2.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 8,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.84, for a total value of $95,793.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 429,892 shares in the company, valued at $4,660,029.28. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,350,523 shares of company stock worth $12,698,797 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Snap by 62.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,211,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386,519 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Snap in the third quarter worth $2,349,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Snap by 49.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,639,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,245,000 after buying an additional 879,212 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new stake in Snap in the fourth quarter worth $289,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Snap in the third quarter worth $3,436,000. 47.52% of the stock is 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.