Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Downgraded by BTIG Research

BTIG Research downgraded shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SPT. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an overweight rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Down 1.9 %

Sprout Social stock opened at $28.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Sprout Social has a twelve month low of $27.75 and a twelve month high of $68.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $93.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 42.60% and a negative net margin of 19.64%. On average, research analysts predict that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $318,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 198,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,286,066.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $2,334,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 287,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,802,544.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $318,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 198,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,286,066.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,100 shares of company stock worth $5,126,065 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 244.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sprout Social by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,953,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,183,000 after acquiring an additional 853,127 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 334.1% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 667,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,293,000 after acquiring an additional 513,687 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 17.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,625,000 after purchasing an additional 311,146 shares during the period. Finally, Shannon River Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter worth $14,103,000.

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.