Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price Down 5.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Sprout Social's stock declined by 5.4% to close at $14.32, with trading volume down 59% compared to its average session.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock; Goldman Sachs reduced its price target significantly while others maintain bullish ratings, leading to a consensus price target of $27.36.
• The company reported earnings of $0.18 per share, surpassing expectations, with a revenue increase of 12.5% year-over-year, although it shows negative returns and margins.

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.44 and last traded at $14.32. Approximately 298,518 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 727,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SPT shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $32.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sprout Social from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.36.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $825.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.08.

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

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In related news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total value of $355,488.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,439. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.05, for a total value of $95,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,745.15. This represents a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,366 shares of company stock worth $1,754,519. 10.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Sprout Social in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,721,000. State of Wyoming raised its position in Sprout Social by 184.3% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 32,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 20,969 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its position in Sprout Social by 262.2% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 59,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 42,734 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Sprout Social by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 18,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Sprout Social by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter.

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.