Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $26.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Sprout Social traded as low as $18.58 and last traded at $18.61, with a volume of 75012 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.64.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprout Social currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,417 shares in the company, valued at $241,720.03. This trade represents a 84.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $97,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $498,414.30. The trade was a 16.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,446 shares of company stock worth $3,115,839. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,886,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,764,000 after purchasing an additional 141,141 shares in the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Sprout Social by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP now owns 4,548,323 shares of the company's stock worth $139,679,000 after buying an additional 263,267 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sprout Social by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 2,306,149 shares of the company's stock worth $70,822,000 after buying an additional 330,155 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,171,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,689,000 after acquiring an additional 7,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 380.7% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,772,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403,549 shares in the last quarter.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.35.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.35). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. The business had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.74 million. On average, analysts forecast that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current 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.