Snap Stock Slammed With More Bear Notes Before Earnings

The social media stock has shed 53% year-to-date

Shares of Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) are taking a hit in electronic trading, after the stock this morning received a fresh round of price-target cuts ahead of the social media name's earnings report, due after the market closes this Thursday, Oct. 25. SNAP has struggled on the charts since its February peak, and, as of last night's close at $6.84, had shed 53% year-to-date. This downside could continue today, with shares of the Snapchat parent set to open 0.9% lower.

Narrowing in on this morning's bear notes, Cowen and Company and SunTrust Robinson slashed their respective price targets to $6 and $8. This negative outlook only builds on yesterday's bearish notes from Nomura and Credit Suisse, as well as one from Goldman Sachs earlier this month. From a broader perspective, 21 of 25 covering firms maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" rating on Snap stock.

The bearish sentiment is seen in the options pits, too, with data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) showing SNAP with a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.37, ranking in the 94th annual percentile. This indicates that puts have been purchased over calls at a faster-than-usual clip during the past two weeks.

The good news for these premium buyers is that the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) stands at 92 out of 100. This lofty reading shows that SNAP has tended to make larger-than-expected moves on the charts over the past year, compared to what the options market has priced in.