Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on SPT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $19.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -18.97 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Sprout Social has a 52 week low of $18.52 and a 52 week high of $39.75.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $109.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.63 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 14.25% and a negative return on equity of 31.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sprout Social will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $334,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 136,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,717,842.50. The trade was a 10.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $799,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,265.83. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,375 shares of company stock valued at $3,157,417. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPT. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 76,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 6,774 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Sprout Social during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Sprout Social during the first quarter valued at $358,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Sprout Social by 23.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 325,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,163,000 after purchasing an additional 60,947 shares during the period. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new position in Sprout Social during the first quarter valued at $271,000.

Sprout Social Company Profile

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.