Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Price Target Raised to $13.50

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity raised Sprout Social’s price target from $10 to $13.50 but kept a Hold rating; the new target implies about 25% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst views remain mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $11.94. Shares fell 9.6% on Wednesday to $10.78.
• Sprout Social beat quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.45 per share versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $125.15 million versus $123.83 million expected.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $10.00 to $13.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.23% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SPT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprout Social from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Sprout Social from $8.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Sprout Social from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.94.

Sprout Social Stock Down 9.6%

Sprout Social stock traded down $1.15 on Wednesday, hitting $10.78. 1,914,390 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,385,025. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $653.16 million, a P/E ratio of -21.56 and a beta of 0.95. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $11.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.28. Sprout Social has a 1 year low of $4.92 and a 1 year high of $13.35.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $125.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.83 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 6.13% and a negative return on equity of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Justyn Howard sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $440,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,735.34. This represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 51,612 shares of company stock valued at $573,757 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPT. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 724.9% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 6,550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 341.9% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,406 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 115.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the first quarter valued at $58,000.

Key Stories Impacting Sprout Social

Here are the key news stories impacting Sprout Social this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 adjusted earnings were $0.45 per share, ahead of the roughly $0.29–$0.30 consensus, while revenue of $125.15 million topped expectations of $123.83 million. The company also reported record non-GAAP operating income of $26.3 million, a 21% margin. Sprout Social Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel raised its price target to $15, signaling improved potential upside in its assessment of SPT. Stifel price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $13 but kept a neutral rating, reflecting a more cautious view than Stifel’s. Cantor Fitzgerald recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beating quarterly estimates, Sprout Social’s revenue outlook for the next quarter slightly missed expectations. Investors may be focusing on that weaker forward signal rather than the strong reported results. Q3 results and revenue guidance
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its target to $10 but maintained an underweight rating, indicating continued caution about the shares. KeyCorp recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into potential securities-related claims after a federal court declined to dismiss a class action. The litigation adds a legal and reputational risk for investors. Shareholder investigation notice

Sprout Social Company Profile

Sprout Social, Inc is a software company that provides a cloud-based social media management platform for businesses and organizations. Its platform helps customers manage social media publishing, engagement, customer care, analytics, listening and employee advocacy from a centralized environment.

The company's products are designed to help marketing, communications, sales and customer service teams plan and publish content, monitor conversations, respond to audiences, evaluate social media performance and gain insights from online activity.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.