*By Michael Teich*
Snap couldn't convince enough new users to join its troubled platform in the first quarter of 2018, and there will be no recovery for the company's stock as long as the current management team remains in control, said Michael Pachter, an analyst from Wedbush Securities.
Shares of the social software company plummeted Wednesday, a day after it delivered quarterly results that seriously disappointed Wall Street. The social media company added just 4 million daily active users from the previous quarter, falling short of the 7 million estimate. The stock responded quickly, and closed down almost 22 percent on Wednesday.
Pachter said competition, an unattractive platform redesign, and Snap's inability to appeal to older users were among the top reasons for its sluggish growth. “Anything Snap comes up with, Facebook will copy and they'll be more effective at it,” he said.
Despite the negative sentiment on Wall Street, Snap still claims 191 million daily active users. Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel acknowledged in an earnings call that the redesign was a drag on revenue and caused "apprehension" among advertising partners, but he emphasized users are still spending over 30 minutes per day on the app.
Pachter, who gives the stock a "neutral" rating and a $10 target for 12 months, said he is resisting giving Snap a "sell" rating because, at some point, "somebody will buy" the company.
The Federal Trade Commission is proposing stronger regulations for children's privacy online.
Hidden inside the foundation of popular artificial intelligence image-generators are thousands of images of child sexual abuse, according to a new report that urges companies to take action to address a harmful flaw in the technology they built.
Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for five years over allegations that a surveillance system it used incorrectly identified potential shoplifters, especially Black, Latino, Asian or female shoppers.
Tesla drivers in the U.S. were in more accidents than drivers of any other car brand this year, according to a study.
Hackers accessed Xfinity customers’ personal information by exploiting a vulnerability in software used by the company, the Comcast-owned telecommunications business announced this week.
The White House is lending its support to an auto industry effort to standardize Tesla’s electric vehicle charging plugs for all EVs in the United States.
A group representing several big tech companies is suing Utah over state laws about children's social media use.
A new study published in the journal Behavior and Information Technology reveals less time on social media makes people happier and more efficient at work.
Google has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an anti-trust settlement.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
