Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Shares Gap Down to $55.11

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.11, but opened at $53.16. Sprout Social shares last traded at $51.60, with a volume of 256,205 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SPT shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.54.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.78 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.77.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 41.25% and a negative net margin of 19.91%. The firm had revenue of $93.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $1,130,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total transaction of $2,622,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,436,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $1,130,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,983,066.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958. Company insiders own 11.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPT. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Sprout Social by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124,376 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sprout Social by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,953,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,183,000 after purchasing an additional 853,127 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Sprout Social by 334.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 667,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,293,000 after purchasing an additional 513,687 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in Sprout Social by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,779,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,388,000 after purchasing an additional 363,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Sprout Social by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 684,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,622,000 after purchasing an additional 299,727 shares in the last quarter.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social, Inc designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action.