Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) hit a new 52-week low on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $72.00 to $50.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Sprout Social traded as low as $29.64 and last traded at $30.08, with a volume of 5810943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.15.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SPT. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Sprout Social from $75.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $74.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler downgraded Sprout Social from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.64.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In other news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 406,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $1,130,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.71, for a total value of $89,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,322 shares in the company, valued at $7,602,396.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958. Company insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPT. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter.

Sprout Social Trading Down 37.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.85.

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

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.