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

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 128,528 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical volume of 87,999 call options.

Snap Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of SNAP traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $9.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 42,037,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,261,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.95. Snap has a 12-month low of $8.29 and a 12-month high of $17.33. The stock has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a PE ratio of -22.13 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.56 and its 200 day moving average is $10.80.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 25.67%. Equities analysts anticipate that Snap will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Snap

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.84, for a total value of $195,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 498,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,403,718.32. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 8,837 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.84, for a total transaction of $95,793.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 429,892 shares in the company, valued at $4,660,029.28. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,350,523 shares of company stock valued at $12,698,797. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Snap during the fourth quarter worth about $422,049,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Snap by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,137,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,161,000 after buying an additional 23,569,522 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Snap during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,162,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Snap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,713,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Snap by 62.4% in 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 period. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Snap from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $11.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Snap from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Snap from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $14.00 to $14.50 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 issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.87.

Snap Company Profile

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.