Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Trading 9.9% Higher on Strong Earnings

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) were up 9.9% during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $24.74 and last traded at $23.98. Approximately 82,987 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 670,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.81.

The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. The business had revenue of $109.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprout Social has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.69.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In other news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $799,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,265.83. The trade was a 84.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $334,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,717,842.50. The trade was a 10.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 125,446 shares of company stock worth $2,644,639 over the last three months. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Sprout Social by 1,319.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Sprout Social by 2,392.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Sprout Social by 19,500.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yarbrough Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000.

Sprout Social Trading Up 9.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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.