Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SPT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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, May 9th. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.81, for a total transaction of $832,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,417 shares in the company, valued at $154,347.77. The trade was a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,439. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,375 shares of company stock worth $3,223,785. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 23.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 325,750 shares of the company's stock worth $7,163,000 after purchasing an additional 60,947 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Sprout Social by 9.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 76,976 shares of the company's stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 6,774 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the first quarter worth approximately $358,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the 1st quarter valued at $271,000.

Sprout Social Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of Sprout Social stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.85. The stock had a trading volume of 413,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,501. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Sprout Social has a 12-month low of $18.52 and a 12-month high of $39.75.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.07. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 14.25% and a negative return on equity of 31.03%. The company had revenue of $109.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Sprout Social's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprout Social Company Profile

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.