Shares of Snap Inc. (SNAP - Free Report) closed nearly 7% lower on Tuesday after Citigroup analysts downgraded the social media stock on the back of a controversial new update that has left many users unhappy.
Citigroup’s Mark May downgraded Snap to “sell” from “hold” and lowered his price target to $14 from $18, which would represent a slide of more than 31% from last week’s close. May cited a “significant jump” in negative reviews following Snapchat’s major redesign—a trend which he says could hurt the stock if it impacts user growth and user engagement.
Snap’s app overhaul and subsequent criticism from users comes shortly after many Wall Street hoped that the young company had reached a turning point. Earlier this month, shares skyrocketed nearly 50% in just one trading period in the wake of the company’s better-than-expected earnings report.
Snap reported an adjusted loss of 13 cents per share in the fourth quarter, coming in ahead of our consensus estimate that called for a loss of 15 cents per share and improving from its 19 cents-per-share loss in the year-ago period.
Evan Spiegel’s company also posted total revenues of $285.7 million, up about 72% year-over-year. Snapchat added about 28.8 million daily active users in the quarter, lifting its total 18% to touch 187 million.
But the app’s new design reorganizes the platform in a way that users are largely unfamiliar with, largely abandoning a basic structure that has been in place for years. If this new style fails to resonate with Snapchat’s most-loyal users, the company’s first impressive quarter might just be its last.
Want more analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
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Shares of Snap Inc. (SNAP - Free Report) closed nearly 7% lower on Tuesday after Citigroup analysts downgraded the social media stock on the back of a controversial new update that has left many users unhappy.
Citigroup’s Mark May downgraded Snap to “sell” from “hold” and lowered his price target to $14 from $18, which would represent a slide of more than 31% from last week’s close. May cited a “significant jump” in negative reviews following Snapchat’s major redesign—a trend which he says could hurt the stock if it impacts user growth and user engagement.
Snap’s app overhaul and subsequent criticism from users comes shortly after many Wall Street hoped that the young company had reached a turning point. Earlier this month, shares skyrocketed nearly 50% in just one trading period in the wake of the company’s better-than-expected earnings report.
Snap reported an adjusted loss of 13 cents per share in the fourth quarter, coming in ahead of our consensus estimate that called for a loss of 15 cents per share and improving from its 19 cents-per-share loss in the year-ago period.
Evan Spiegel’s company also posted total revenues of $285.7 million, up about 72% year-over-year. Snapchat added about 28.8 million daily active users in the quarter, lifting its total 18% to touch 187 million.
But the app’s new design reorganizes the platform in a way that users are largely unfamiliar with, largely abandoning a basic structure that has been in place for years. If this new style fails to resonate with Snapchat’s most-loyal users, the company’s first impressive quarter might just be its last.
Want more analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?
Just last year, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.
Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.
Download the new report now>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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