Trexquant Investment LP Acquires 94,112 Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. $SPT

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Sprout Social by 192.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 142,916 shares worth approximately $3.14 million.
• Sprout Social reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.18, exceeding estimates, with a 12.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Recent analyst ratings for Sprout Social include target price reductions by Oppenheimer and Goldman Sachs, with a consensus target price now at $27.36.

Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Free Report) by 192.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 142,916 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 94,112 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.25% of Sprout Social worth $3,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $129,762,000 after buying an additional 14,771 shares during the period. Dorsey Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $70,822,000 after buying an additional 330,155 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $48,388,000 after buying an additional 28,876 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the first quarter valued at about $13,131,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 493,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,154,000 after buying an additional 22,122 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Sprout Social from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $355,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,439. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.05, for a total transaction of $95,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,745.15. The trade was a 14.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,366 shares of company stock worth $1,754,519 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of SPT traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $15.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 822,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.60. Sprout Social, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.33 and a fifty-two week high of $36.30. The company has a market capitalization of $891.05 million, a PE ratio of -15.95 and a beta of 0.86.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 12.70% and a negative return on equity of 25.95%. The firm had revenue of $111.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. Sprout Social's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share 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.