Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.54.

SPT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Sprout Social in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company.

Sprout Social Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ SPT opened at $55.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.77. Sprout Social has a twelve month low of $37.00 and a twelve month high of $68.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.92 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In related news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at $22,983,066.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $1,252,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,533,534.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at $22,983,066.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958 over the last quarter. 11.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPT. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 25,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Sprout Social by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 434,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,789,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprout Social by 105.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 56.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,961,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 2.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter.

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.