Wall Street Is Suddenly Bullish On Snap

But will it last more than 24 hours?

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Julie Verhage and Drew Singer

March 27, 2017 at 12:58 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Snap! The maker of Snapchat is enjoying a sudden rush of love from sell-side analysts.

Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Monday issued a raft of 'buy' or 'neutral' ratings on newly-listed Snap Inc. stock. The recommendations follow the expiration of a waiting period that prevented underwriters on the company's $3.1 billion initial public offering earlier this month from publishing research immediately after the listing.

Snap stock has since dipped to $23 a share -- below its $24 first-day opening price and an initial 'pop' to $27 a share -- after analysts at firms including Cantor Fitzgerald LP and Pivotal Research Group LLC published downbeat commentary and 'sell' recommendations.

The fresh reports take a far more positive view of the photo-messaging application's ability to generate revenue. Including the new targets, 41 percent of Wall Street analysts now rate Snap stock as a 'buy,' while 38 percent have it at 'neutral,' and 21 percent say it's a 'sell,' according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average price target is $23.67 -- or essentially unchanged from today's level.

RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Mark Mahaney is the most bullish, mainly due to Snap's strong mobile presence. He expects the stock to trade at $31 over the next year.: