Snapchat parent Snap's stock surges after a number of bullish analyst calls
Shares of Snapchat parent Snap Inc. surged 3.6% in premarket trade Monday, after a number of Wall Street analysts started coverage of the social media company with bullish ratings and price targets. No less than eight analysts initiated coverage of Snap, according to FactSet, with five of them giving the company the equivalent of buy ratings, and three placing hold ratings, with price targets ranging from $23 to $31. That brings the average rating of the 25 analysts surveyed by FactSet to hold, and the average price target to $23.27, which was 2.3% above Friday's closing price of $22.74. Analyst Mark Mahaney at RBC Capital, which was not among the lead underwriters, initiated Snap at outperform and set the highest of the price targets at $31, saying the company has become an innovation leader for consumers and advertisers in the fastest advertising medium, mobile. "We believe that if it sustains its current level of innovation, it can sustain premium growth for a long time and scale to profitability," Mahaney wrote in a note to clients. Through Friday, the stock has lost 7.1% since its closed at $24.48 on its first day of trade, which was 44% above its IPO price of $17. The S&P 500 has lost 1.6% over the same time.
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