NEW YORK, February 13, 2026, 06:53 ET — Premarket
- Snap dropped 0.6% in premarket trading after Citi trimmed its price target.
- Shares settled at $4.82 on Thursday, having dipped to $4.72—the lowest level seen in the past 52 weeks.
- U.S. inflation numbers hit at 8:30 a.m. ET—traders are watching for the next risk signal.
Snap Inc slipped 0.6% to $4.79 ahead of Friday’s open. Citi dropped its price target on the stock to $6 from $10 and kept a Neutral rating, citing “brand advertising headwinds.” (Investing)
Snapchat’s parent is hovering near territory that’s typically seen as the make-or-break zone for battered ad stocks. A new wave of target cuts is hitting now—significant, given Snap continues to trade with turnaround hopes built in, and it doesn’t take much to send the shares spinning lower.
The legal spotlight swung back around on Wednesday, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against Snap. He accused the company of misleading parents about how safe Snapchat really is. “I will not allow Snapchat to harm our kids,” Paxton declared. (Texas Attorney General)
Big picture, the tape’s not doing investors any favors. The Nasdaq slipped 2.03% Thursday, with traders stepping back from tech stocks on AI disruption concerns and ahead of the January Consumer Price Index, set to drop before the cash open. “We’re in that in-between zone between two key economic macro reports,” said Marc Dizard, chief investment officer at Huntington Wealth Management. (Reuters)
Snap shares settled at $4.82 on Thursday, off 3.41% for the day and touching $4.72 at the session low. The previous day, the stock had dropped 4.59%, putting its two-day slide close to 8%, based on Investing.com data. (Investing)
Citi left its rating steady but lowered the bar with a fresh price target. Remember, a price target is just an analyst’s best guess for where the stock might land in a year or so—not a promise. Still, for a stock already weighed down by skepticism and recent downgrades, another cut can hurt.
Ad-driven platforms are running into fresh turbulence. Pinterest shares tumbled over 18% after hours on Thursday, as the company predicted first-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street’s mark. Executives blamed weaker retailer spending and mounting pressure from heavyweight rivals TikTok and Instagram. (Reuters)
Snap’s stuck with the usual debate — are marketers really coming back to “brand” ads, or does the money keep flowing toward performance spots on other platforms? Citi’s callout of “brand advertising headwinds” isn’t exactly breaking news, but with shares hovering just above their lows, it stings all the same.
There’s also the straightforward macro risk. A hotter-than-expected CPI print on Friday could quickly trigger a rates reset, and high-beta tech like Snap might take a direct hit—news or no news out of the company. As for the Texas lawsuit, that’s a different kind of overhang, tougher to gauge.
Next week’s shaping up to be another bout of AI-fueled swings, with traders poring over earnings and a hefty lineup of economic reports. “It’s a ‘whack-a-mole’ game trying to figure out what AI is going to destroy next,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, nodding toward a schedule that features Walmart’s numbers and fresh U.S. figures. Markets are shut Monday for a holiday. (Reuters)
