A recent survey by investment firm Cowen has downgraded Snapchat shares by 5%, and predicts they will continue to lose ground to Instagram.

All snaps must fade

Cowen lowered its rating of Snapchat’s value, predicting a 30% drop in stock price over the coming months.

Finance analyst John Blackledge is predicting investors prepare for shortfalls in fourth-quarter earnings and cited “Ninety-six percent of ad buyers would prefer to advertise on Instagram Stories versus Snap Ads.”

However, Blackledge did make the caveat that the 50 ad buyers polled in their survey had yet to buy ads on either Instagram or Snapchat.

Snap may still have a shot

But isn’t over just yet. Blackledge pointed out that Snap’s daily active users are expected to increase 16% year over year, which has also harkened an interface redesign to usher in new users.

Users between 18 – 24 years of age are expected to engage with the app an average of 53 minutes per day.

However, the company has also reached 70% of the 13 – 34 age range without much room to grow. The question remains, can Snapchat grow with its demographic?