Snap Could Break Out To New High

Snap Inc. (SNAP) surged to the highest high in nearly two months on Thursday after announcing the launch of personalized public profiles and advanced analytics to their global user base. The initiative expands on prior permissions that allowed only verified celebrities, brands, and official creators to build static profiles, which contain short biographies, recent content listings, and customized lenses.

Snap Expands User Customization

All users can now set up profiles with account photos, bio sections, text descriptions, locations, email contacts, and URLs. They can also customize a creator-curated collection of recent photo/video uploads as well as everything published through the lens studio. New profile features include ‘Stories Replies’, where users can discuss their stories and ‘Quoting’, which allows creators to share and respond to follower inquiries.

Bank of America analyst Justin Post said in a Thursday note he expects the Snap initiative to underpin share price, commenting, “Snap plans to roll out this functionality globally in the coming months…With this announcement Snap blends together existing Snap functionality with new features that are common to apps including TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter and we see a number of potential engagement drivers if the functionality gains traction”.

Wall Street And Technical Outlook

Wall Street consensus rates Snap as a ‘Moderate Buy’, based upon 19 ‘Buy, 9 ‘Hold’, and 1 ‘Sell’ recommendation. Price targets currently range from a low of $16 to a street-high $30 while the stock is trading less than $3 below the median $26 target in Thursday’s U.S. session. There’s plenty of room for upside in this placement but new investors may wait for more bullish catalysts before jumping on board.

Snap came public at 24 in March 2017 and posted an all-time high at 29.44 in the following session. The subsequent decline hit an all-time low at 4.82 in December 2018 while price action into July 2020 stalled within 5 points of the 2017 high. The stock pulled back into August and has now bounced off the 50-day EMA, raising odds it will complete the long-awaited round trip. Accumulation readings have already hit new highs, indicating that price may soon follow.