Nuveen LLC Makes New $13.13 Million Investment in Sprout Social, Inc. $SPT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Sprout Social, Inc. worth approximately $13.13 million, representing about 1.03% of the company's shares.
• Recent insider trading activity has seen CEO Ryan Paul Barretto and another insider sell significant portions of their holdings, resulting in a 12.30% and 84.36% decrease in their respective ownerships.
• Despite a revenue increase of 12.5% year-over-year, Sprout Social reported a negative return on equity of -25.95% and the current consensus rating for the stock is a "Moderate Buy".

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 597,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,131,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.03% of Sprout Social at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,900,938 shares of the company's stock worth $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 14,771 shares during the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP now owns 4,548,323 shares of the company's stock worth $139,679,000 after purchasing an additional 263,267 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 2,306,149 shares of the company's stock worth $70,822,000 after purchasing an additional 330,155 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 1.3% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,200,443 shares of the company's stock worth $48,388,000 after purchasing an additional 28,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 380.7% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,772,219 shares of the company's stock worth $54,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,549 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $355,488.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 119,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,534,439. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $844,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,647.04. The trade was a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,375 shares of company stock valued at $2,389,535 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SPT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $32.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.36.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPT traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 804,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,388. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.46. The company has a market cap of $922.73 million, a P/E ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 0.99. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.33 and a 12 month high of $36.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $111.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.93 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 12.70% and a negative return on equity of 25.95%. The company's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.