Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) saw its shares move doggedly forward Friday morning after getting a bullish upgrade from Wall Street. Pivotal Research changed its rating on the Snapchat parent from hold to buy.
Analyst Michael Levine also increased his price target from $13.25 to $17.25, citing improvements in many key areas of the business. The redesigned Android version of Snapchat is helping the company return to user growth, after the user base stagnated throughout much of 2018.
That could represent an important "inflection point in the business," according to Levine.
Additionally, Snap released several new Lenses earlier this month at its first Snap Partner Summit, which Levine considers "among some of the most impressive product innovation we have seen in some time from the company." Lenses are Snapchat's popular augmented reality (AR) filters.
Citing channel checks, the analyst believes the progress with user growth, engagement, and product innovation is already translating into improved relationships with advertising customers, which should help strengthen the business going forward.
Pivotal is seeing better relationships with ad agencies and a "category focused sales team," since Snap’s chief business officer Jeremi Gorman, former head of global advertising sales for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), joined the team.
Levine added that Snap is "underpenetrated on media plans." After its initial public offering in March of 2017, Snap had a slowing in user growth and several quarters of disappointing earnings, causing the stock to fall nearly 40% in its first few months.
Snap shares gained 11 cents Friday morning to $13.92. They have surged more than 152% so far this year.
Tech Insider
