At least 17 analysts hiked SNAP's price target this morning
Social media giant Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) is surging this morning, last seen up 24.3% at $78.28, after blowing past analysts' estimates with second-quarter earnings of 9 cents per share, as well as revenue beat. The company reported its highest growth rate since 2017, in addition to a 23% jump in daily active users as new features on its messaging app Snapchat attracted more people. To boot, Snap's third-quarter forecast its revenue above Wall Street's expectations.
The brokerage bunch is blasting the security with bull notes in response. At last check, Snap stock had received at least 17 price-target hikes, including one from Credit Suisse to $110 from $90. This is made more significant by the fact that analysts are already bullish towards the equity, with 21 of the 24 in question rating it a "buy" or better. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $83.60 is a 32.8% premium to current levels.
Today's pop has the security trading at its highest level since 2004. Shares have been steadily climbing up the charts over the past year, with solid support coming from the 80-day moving average, after a dip below this trendline from March to April. Over the last 12 months, SNAP has added 186.6%.
The security could benefit from a shift in sentiment over in the options pits, which lean bearish. This is according to the stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 98th percentile of its annual range. This indicates long puts are being picked up at a much faster-than-usual pace.
Echoing this, Snap stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.56 stands higher than 99% of readings from the past year, suggesting short-term options traders have rarely been more put biased.
That shift seems to be already happening today. So far, 117,000 calls and 51,000 puts have already crossed the tape, which is seven times the intraday average. Most popular is the 7/23 80-strike call, followed by the 75-strike call in the same series, with positions being opened at both. In other words, buyers of these options expect additional upside for SNAP by the end of the day, when these contracts are set to expire.