DnB Asset Management AS Cuts Position in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its stake in shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Snap were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SNAP. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Snap by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 31,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Snap by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 25,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Snap by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 142,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its holdings in Snap by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 17,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Price Performance

SNAP stock opened at $8.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.82. Snap Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.29 and a 52-week high of $17.33. The company has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of -21.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total value of $206,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 480,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,520,922.02. The trade was a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $9,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 55,818,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $504,599,673.92. This represents a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,332,523 shares of company stock worth $12,503,677. 22.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Snap from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Snap from $13.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Snap from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.80.

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.