Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Downgraded by BTIG Research

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) was downgraded by investment analysts at BTIG Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

SPT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Trading Down 40.1 %

NASDAQ SPT opened at $28.82 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.71. 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 52 week low of $27.85 and a 52 week high of $68.41.

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 analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 42.60% and a negative net margin of 19.64%. Equities research analysts predict that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

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

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

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

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.