Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Rating Lowered to Neutral at BTIG Research

BTIG Research cut shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sprout Social from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an overweight rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT traded down $19.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.82. 13,470,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,800. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Sprout Social has a twelve month low of $27.85 and a twelve month high of $68.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.71.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $93.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 42.60% and a negative net margin of 19.64%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $318,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 198,175 shares in the company, valued at $11,286,066.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,958. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sprout Social by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,084,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,609,000 after buying an additional 191,471 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 244.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 27.5% in the third 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. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,532,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,587,000 after purchasing an additional 153,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 17.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,625,000 after purchasing an additional 311,146 shares in the last quarter.

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.