*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 head of Russia's space agency said Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Facebook on Monday of putting profits over people’s safety during the emergencies created by Canada’s record wildfire season.
Jeffrey Yin, chief financial officer of Artsy, and artist Trevor Paglen explained how AI is expanding the tools that can be used to add new depth to the industry.
Mastercards's Chief Technology Officer Ed McLaughlin shows Cheddar News Senior Reporter Michelle Castillo what shoppers can expect in shopping technology.
Almost a week after the Apple faithful collectively gasped at the first evidence that the iPhone’s red “end call” button might soon be vacating its center position to take up residence one column to the right, it looks like it might have been mostly a false alarm.
Meta is under scrutiny for the way it has moderated reproductive health content. Women's health advocates say the social media giant has allowed male health content to flow more freely than content geared toward women and gender diversity.
