Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) is scheduled to release its results for the most recent quarter after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for a net loss of $0.19 per share and $157.98 million in revenue.
This company is recognized for one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, especially with particular strength among the preteen through mid-20s demographic.
In a recent report, Argus initiated coverage for Snap with a near-term Hold rating and a long-term Buy rating. Currently, the Snap shares appear expensive and priced for flawless execution. However, the company’s core Snapchat service faces competitive challenges from Facebook and others. In particular, street revenue assumptions assume extremely robust growth in advertising dollars, at a time when competitor offerings are having an impact on user growth.
Snapchat has shown significant growth in average revenue per user and daily active user during the company’s short history. Snap has signed a deal with NBC Universal for the 2018 Winter Olympics that will allow NBC to sell games-related filters and lenses (popular Snapchat features). The deal could bring Snap $75 million in advertising revenue. This kind of partnering with mainstream media venues is highly positive for Snap.
Although growth has been strong, competition has begun to heat up with the introduction of Stories by Facebook, following the launch of Stories-like platforms on Facebook properties Instagram and WhatsApp. Snapchat’s daily active user growth has slowed, potentially reflecting competitive inroads. Facebook has far more users, and it is possible that many active users of Snapchat could shift to Instagram and the core Facebook platform. Five-fold growth in 2016 revenue will be difficult to repeat going forward, although growth should remain well above average.
A few other analysts weighed in on Snap ahead of the report:
- Cowen has an Outperform rating with a $26 price target.
- Cleveland Research has a Buy rating.
- Canaccord Genuity has a Hold rating with a $22 price target.
- Raymond James has a Market Perform rating.
- Jefferies has a Buy rating with a $30 price target.
- Barclays has a Sell rating.
- BTIG has a Neutral rating.
Shares of Snap were last seen down 1.3% at $23.02 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $23.43 and a 52-week trading range of $18.90 to $29.44.
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