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

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.31.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SPT. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Sprout Social from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Sprout Social Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT opened at $26.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.44 and a beta of 0.98. Sprout Social has a 52-week low of $25.05 and a 52-week high of $68.41.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 44.38% and a negative net margin of 19.60%. The company had revenue of $99.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprout Social

In other news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total value of $388,934.38. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 470,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,761,747.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total value of $388,934.38. Following the transaction, the president now owns 470,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,761,747.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 1,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total transaction of $34,520.63. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,226.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,670,776. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,164,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,368,000 after acquiring an additional 93,712 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,150,000 after buying an additional 100,890 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Sprout Social by 17.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,625,000 after buying an additional 311,146 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 2.5% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,765,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,423,000 after buying an additional 43,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the second quarter worth $61,583,000.

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.