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Snap Inc Stock Crashes Despite Impressive Growth

By U.S. News & World Report

Snap Inc (ticker: SNAP) shares tumbled, shedding nearly 20 percent of their value on Thursday after its first ever quarterly earnings report as a public company disappointed investors. Still, some Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for Snap, the parent company of the popular messaging app Snapchat.

Despite a huge surge in revenue from $38.8 million in the first quarter of last year to $149.7 million in first quarter of 2017, Snap fell short of the average analyst revenue estimate of $158 million. Snap also reported a net loss of $2.21 billion, or $2.31 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of $1.92 per share.

[See: 7 Horrendous Dividend Stocks to Actively Avoid.]

Perhaps the most disappointing number of all for Snap investors was its 166 million daily active users, or DAUs. While that number is up 36.1 percent compared to a year ago, it was short of analyst expectations of 167.3 million DAUs and represents the third consecutive quarter of slowing growth. Snap reported daily average user growth of 47.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 62.8 percent in the third quarter of 2016.

Several Wall Street analysts remain bullish on the stock, which opened Thursday’s session within a dollar of its IPO price of $17 per share.

Oppenheimer upgraded Snap to “outperform” following the earnings report and believes Snapchat’s focus on “few-to-few communication” differentiates the platform from rivals Facebook ( FB), Instagram and Twitter ( TWTR).

“We believe this is an important distinction and will act as a durable competitive differentiator for Snapchat,” analyst Jason Helfstein says.

JMP Securities also maintains its “market outperform” rating on Snap.

“While we would have liked to have seen at least in-line DAU net additions in the quarter, engagement continues to ramp with users now averaging 30-plus minutes per day on Snapchat and the performance issues on Android impacting DAU growth appear to be improving as Android net adds doubled,” analyst Ronald Josey says.

Nomura is not as optimistic. The firm slashed its price target for Snap to $14 and said the stock faces “fierce competition from deeper-pocketed rivals including FB and continues to trade at a valuation that looks quite lofty to us.”

[Read: The 10 Most Anticipated IPOs of 2017.]

Snap investors dealing with huge losses on Thursday can take comfort in the fact that other large social media IPO stocks also crashed following their first public earnings reports. Shares of Facebook, Twitter and Yelp Inc ( YELP) all fell at least 10 percent on the day following their first earnings reports.

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Snap Inc Stock Crashes Despite Impressive Growth originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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