Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.69.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SPT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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 report on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other Sprout Social news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 23,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total value of $581,218.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,358.76. This represents a 35.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,347.77. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 125,446 shares of company stock valued at $2,644,639. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 339.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 90,234 shares of the company's stock worth $2,623,000 after acquiring an additional 69,704 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Sprout Social by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,256 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 391.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 35,985 shares of the company's stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 28,667 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,171,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,311 shares during the last quarter.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of SPT stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.32. The company had a trading volume of 675,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,942. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.77 and a beta of 1.20. Sprout Social has a one year low of $18.52 and a one year high of $39.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.51.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $109.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.63 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sprout Social will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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.