Is Snapchat Stock Heading for a Photo Finish in 2021?
shareholders have been on a wild ride in 2021, as the stock rallied to hit all-time highs early in the year only to fall over 30% from its peak. The social networking company is an exciting option for growth investors who are interested in interactive media exposure, although it can certainly be a volatile name to own. With that said, the stock has started to resolve higher after several months of back and forth price action, which could be a sign that new highs are on the horizon.Many investors view Snapchat as one of the highest quality social media stocks out there, particularly when compared to competitors such as Twitter and Pinterest . With a growing user base including a 22% increase in daily active users in Q1 and exciting new opportunities for monetizing the app, this is a company that could be heading for a photo finish in 2021. Lets take a deeper look at what makes Snapchat stock worth a look at this time.One of the big reasons to consider adding shares of Snapchat at this time is thanks to the companys ability to attract younger demographics. Snapchat has developed a popular social networking application driven by cameras on mobile phones, which naturally has attracted a lot of Millennials and younger age groups. Most of Snapchats 280 million daily active users fall into the 18 to 24 years old demographic, which is noteworthy for a few reasons.We know how active younger generations are on their cell phones, which means that Snapchat is a dream for advertisers looking to reach them. The app has some truly impressive usage statistics that could attract plenty of interest over the long term from companies who are interested in reaching young individuals. According to the companys Investor Relations page, over 5 billion snaps are created every day on average and the app is opened 30 times per day. This impressive usage tells us that Snapchat really has created something special that users are coming back to time and time again, which could show up in the companys earnings numbers for the remainder of the year.If you arent familiar with Snapchats business model, it generates the vast majority of its revenue through advertising. During the pandemic, many companies had to cut back on their ad spend given the uncertainty of the circumstances. This hurt companies like Snapchat that rely heavily on marketers spending to put content on their platform, but things are looking up in 2021. Q1 earnings were quite strong for Snapchat, as the company reported revenue of $770 million, up 66% year-over-year, and expects to deliver between $820 and $840 million of revenue in Q2.This tells us that ad spend is coming back and that Snapchat is still benefitting from the shift in advertising from traditional media to online and digital media sources. Keep in mind that marketers are always looking for ways to sell their products and services to younger customers, but oftentimes struggle with finding the right way to connect with that age group. Thats the beauty of Snapchat , and the company should continue seeing strong ad spend for years as its users move into the valuable young adult demographic.When it comes down to it, buying a company like Snapchat means you are buying into the companys future ability to further monetize its application. The good news is that the company has plenty of new ways to make that happen. Snapchat recently announced several new tools and monetization opportunities for creators that should encourage more people to post, which in turn can lead to additional top-line growth. There are also interesting things the company is doing with augmented reality that could lead to more monetization opportunities, including the companys AR glasses called Spectacles and AR Lenses that are accessible on the companys application.The company has also partnered up with several high-profile publishers including NBC, New York Times, and ESPN to deliver custom content on its platform. If Snapchat can continue to develop those types of relationships, the app could turn into a true media powerhouse. Finally, if Snapchats management can figure out the best ways to monetize all of the user data it has, the sky is the limit for this company. Any updates on how the company is further able to monetize the application should help Snapchat enjoy a photo finish to 2021. Companies Mentioned in This Article  Company MarketRank Current Price Price Change Dividend Yield P/E Ratio Consensus Rating Consensus Price Target Snap-on (SNA) 2.2 $221.28 +0.9% 2.22% 17.77 Hold $190.60  The growing acceptance of cryptocurrency is beginning to make mainstream investors rethink their idea of store of value. The trendy possibilities of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and any of the dozens of altcoins that exist on the blockchain are trending like the latest fashion.However, the thing about fashion is that the more things change the more things stay the same. Just like the simple black dress that wont go out of fashion, the same can be said for precious metals stocks. One way to think about it would be to say that the existence of a growing cryptocurrency market doesnt change the value of precious metals.Precious metals have long been known to be a safe-haven asset in times of market volatility and economic crisis. In fact, during the Covid-19 pandemic, gold prices surged about 30% breaking the $2,000 mark for the first time in its history. This was at a time when the prices of many cryptocurrencies were falling.And precious metals have also been seen as a hedge against inflation, which seems like more of a certainty with the Federal Reserves pledge to keep interest rates at historically low rates into 2023.Whether youre looking to take your first steps at crafting a precious metals portfolio or if you want to fine-tune the one you have, we believe this special presentation is a good place to start your research. Weve identified seven precious metals stocks that look to retain their allure in 2021.