Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Downgraded by Piper Sandler to “Neutral”

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $40.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00.

SPT has been the topic of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. BTIG Research cut shares of Sprout Social from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

SPT opened at $28.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 1.09. Sprout Social has a 52-week low of $27.85 and a 52-week high of $68.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.80.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $93.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 42.60% and a negative net margin of 19.64%. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprout Social will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In related news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total value of $2,334,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,912 shares in the company, valued at $16,802,544.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 22,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $1,252,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,487 shares in the company, valued at $2,533,534.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,802,544.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 89,100 shares of company stock worth $5,126,065. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 361.1% during the 1st quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,625,000 after buying an additional 311,146 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 334,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,983,000 after buying an additional 7,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 881,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,611,000 after buying an additional 13,472 shares during the last quarter.

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.