Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Sprout Social, Inc. has received an average analyst recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with six analysts recommending a buy and six a hold.
• The company reported $0.18 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and its revenue was up 12.5% year-over-year.
• Recent insider transactions include significant stock sales by CEO Ryan Paul Barretto and another insider, indicating potential shifts in confidence among company leaders.

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.3636.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut Sprout Social from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Sprout Social from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $32.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $14.36 on Tuesday. Sprout Social has a one year low of $13.33 and a one year high of $36.30. The company has a market cap of $844.22 million, a PE ratio of -15.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.58.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $111.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.93 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 25.95% and a negative net margin of 12.70%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,439. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.94, for a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,809.98. This trade represents a 72.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,366 shares of company stock worth $1,754,519. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPT. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 739.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 714,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,932,000 after buying an additional 629,033 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,131,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,694,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 20,382.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 471,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,850,000 after buying an additional 468,787 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 182.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 687,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,370,000 after buying an additional 443,774 shares during the period.

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.

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