Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $57.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SMAR. Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Smartsheet from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smartsheet from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Smartsheet from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Smartsheet from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smartsheet currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.06.

Smartsheet Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMAR opened at $52.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.52 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.59. Smartsheet has a 1 year low of $35.52 and a 1 year high of $54.28.

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $276.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.23 million. Smartsheet had a negative return on equity of 4.42% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. Smartsheet’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Smartsheet will post -0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Smartsheet announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smartsheet

In other Smartsheet news, CFO Pete Godbole sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $326,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,604,274.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Smartsheet news, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total transaction of $172,181.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,203.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Pete Godbole sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total value of $326,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,604,274.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,263,525 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smartsheet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMAR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Smartsheet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,879,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Smartsheet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,388,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smartsheet by 908.1% in the 4th quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,040,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,767,000 after acquiring an additional 937,483 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smartsheet by 188.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,844,000 after acquiring an additional 881,004 shares during the period. Finally, Engaged Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smartsheet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,600,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet, Inc engages in managing and automating collaborative work. Its platform provides solutions that eliminate the obstacles to capturing information, including a familiar and intuitive spreadsheet interface as well as easily customizable forms. The company was founded by W. Eric Browne, Maria Colacurcio, John D.