Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Neutral”

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) was downgraded by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $44.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $80.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 52.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SPT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprout Social presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

SPT opened at $28.82 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $27.85 and a 12-month high of $68.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 1.09.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last issued its 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). Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 42.60% and a negative net margin of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $93.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In other Sprout Social news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of Sprout Social 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 sale, the president now owns 209,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,485,031.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $333,928.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 209,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,485,031.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at $22,983,066.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,958. 10.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

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

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.