Sprout Social’s (SPT) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at William Blair

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at William Blair in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. BTIG Research downgraded Sprout Social from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $75.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Sprout Social from $74.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $72.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT traded down $19.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.82. 13,463,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,273. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.42 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 $56.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.85.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.91% and a negative return on equity of 41.25%. The firm had revenue of $93.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.76 million. 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, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $333,928.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 209,375 shares in the company, valued at $12,485,031.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $2,622,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $333,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 209,375 shares in the company, valued at $12,485,031.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Sprout Social by 7.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 401,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 28,466 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 24.6% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 39,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sprout Social by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Sprout Social by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter worth approximately $423,000.

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.