Shares of the Snapchat parent are on track for their worst day in nearly a year
Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) shares are down 20.4% to trade at $11.25, fresh off a new record low of $10.96, and the worst stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today. Weighing on the equity is the company's lower-than-anticipated first-quarter revenue and daily active user growth, as well as a dismal current-quarter revenue forecast -- due to a loss in advertisers following the poorly received Snapchat redesign.
As a result, a flurry of bearish analyst attention was heaped on the stock, with three brokerages issuing downgrades, including one to "sell" from "hold" at Summit Insights, which also slashed its price target to $10 from $16. Elsewhere, an analyst at Deutsche Bank expressed frustration with the Snapchat app redesign, and was unsure why it hasn't been "aggressively rolled back already."
SNAP stock is on track for its worst day since May 11, 2017, and has now given back 23% in 2018. And while the equity is currently short-sale restricted, short sellers are likely cheering today's collapse. Short interest increased by 4.7% in the most recent reporting period to 91.50 million shares, the highest since early February. This represents nearly 15% of SNAP's total available float.
In the options pits, call buying has been unusually popular -- though some if this could be a result of shorts hedging. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 2.43 is six percentage points from an annual high. This indicates long calls have been initiated relative to puts at a quicker-than-usual clip over the past two weeks.