Snap holds its IPO price (SNAP)

pulse

June 16, 2017 2:39 PM

Even the banks that underwrote Snap's IPO are bearish on the stock.

FILE PHOTO: A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City

After a rough day Thursday, Snap's shares opened up 0.8% at $17.14 on Friday.

The stock fell 4% Thursday to close at $17.00, the same price of its March IPO. That day, Snap's shares opened for trading at $24 and soon rallied to an all-time high of $27.09.

Snap executives and company insiders aren't able to sell their shares until the end of July, due to a 150-day lockup period following the IPO.

While they wait to cash in on their shares, short traders are making money off the declining stock price. Short sellers have made $195 million, including Thursday's decline, according to data from S3 Partners. Snap is the third most shorted stock in the application software sector.

Even the banks that underwrote Snap's IPO are turning bearish on the stock. At the beginning of June, JPMorgan downgraded the stock.

Snap has struggled to outpace its competition, especially as rivals like Facebook have replicated most of Snap's core app functionality.

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