Snap hits $100-bn market value after doubling in four months

Snap Inc. hit $100 billion in market value after surging usage and a rebounding market for digital ads sent the social-media stock soaring this year.

The Snapchat owner rose as much as 3% on Monday after Morgan Stanley turned bullish, saying it’s poised for faster-than-expected growth in engagement, revenue and profitability. The stock has doubled since October and is up more than four-fold over the past year amid a sharp increase in usage during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social-media companies have seen their revenues swell as stuck-at-home consumers spent more time on their platforms and spending on digital ads rebounded from an initial drop last year. Snap’s daily active users rose to 265 million in the fourth quarter, a 22% increase from the same period a year ago. The Santa Monica, California-based company projected revenue growth would accelerate this year from 2020’s 46% expansion.

Snap’s revenue has plenty of room to grow thanks to products like Discover, Maps and Spotlight, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak wrote in a research note, raising his rating to overweight from equal-weight. Nowak said he’s looking for more information on Snap’s plans to monetize those products at its first investor day on Tuesday.

Snap is now worth more than four-fifths of companies in the S&P 500 Index, including Target Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

(Adds Morgan Stanley comments in fourth paragraph.)

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