Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Sprout Social shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading at $11.12 versus the $11.09 average; the 200-day average is $8.31.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.45 versus $0.29 forecast and revenue of $125.15 million versus $123.83 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating and $12.17 average price target, with four Buy, five Hold, and two Sell ratings.

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.09 and traded as high as $11.23. Sprout Social shares last traded at $11.12, with a volume of 863,588 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SPT. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprout Social has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.17.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $673.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.71 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $11.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.31.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $125.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.83 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 5.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.09%. On average, analysts expect that Sprout Social, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprout Social news, insider Justyn Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total transaction of $440,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,417 shares in the company, valued at $81,735.34. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 51,612 shares of company stock worth $573,757 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Sprout Social during the third quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sprout Social by 57.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 47,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 17,355 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter worth $59,000.

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.

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