That Didn't Take Long: Snap Initiated With A Sell Rating At Pivotal

Loading...
Loading...

Snap Inc's SNAP initial public offering is a few hours old, but Wall Street firms that didn't participate in the underwriting activity are coming out with their recommendations.

Pivotal Research Group's Brian Wieser initiated coverage of Snap with a Sell rating and $10 price target, notably below the $17 per share offering price and well below the $25 per share Snap was trading at early Thursday afternoon.

Speaking to CNBC, Wieser said the valuation on Snap's stock is "more than robust" especially given his revenue estimate of just $7 billion by 2023. The analyst suggested Thursday's strong performance is in part due to IPO euphoria and the thinking that "the next person will pay more for it."

See Also: Snap Already More Valuable Than Twitter, Macy's, Other Household Names

Wieser also attributed his bearish rating to the fact that Snap issues a large amount of shares. For example, the average Snap employee received last year $1.4 million worth of shares last year which is "stunning."

Wieser also argued Snap's corporate structure is "sub-optimal" and led by a management team that lacks the necessary experience in transforming a new product into a successful company.

"It's not to say that they can't be successful," Wieser explained. "But they haven't done it yet so there is some real risk. I could generate one billion dollars in revenue if you gave me $2 billion today. That wouldn't make me successful."

Loading...
Loading...
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
date
ticker
name
Price Target
Upside/Downside
Recommendation
Firm
Posted In: Analyst ColorCNBCPrice TargetInitiationAnalyst RatingsMediaBrian WieserPivotal Research GroupSNAPSnap IPOSnapChat
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...