Snapchat stock fell almost 14% on Wednesday, following the sudden departure of the Company's CFO, Tim Stone.
The CFO, who previously worked for
Amazon, was recruited by Snapchat only 8 months ago. The surprise announcement
came amid other challenges being faced by SNAP, including fierce competition from the much bigger rival,
Facebook.
Snapchat stock had a troublesome year, falling over 70% from its high of about $20 in early 2018.
Hedge Funds Initiating Large Positions in Snap
Two hedge funds have acquired significant positions in Snap stock. Krishnan of
Tybourne Capital Management
steadily built up an 11% stake over the past few quarters, while Greenspan of
Slate Path Capital bought a
10% position in one go during the third quarter. Other hedge funds only bought minor amounts of Snap.
Although a few hedge funds closed out their Snap investments, the size of those investments where mostly insignificant.
More Challenges facing Snap
Snapchat had trouble with giants like Facebook and Instagram copying newer features that they roll out. Since much
of those concepts are not (and cannot be) patented, nothing stops bigger social media outlets from following suit.
The CEO Evan Spiegel said that they have to "keep innovating" to compete, citing their focus on revolutionizing
what a camera can do on a smartphone.