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

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $40.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $66.00.

SPT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an overweight rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPT traded down $19.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.82. 13,470,229 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,800. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.71. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE 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.

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

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $2,622,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,436,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sprout Social news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $2,622,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,436,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.71, for a total transaction of $89,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,602,396.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958 over the last three months. 10.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 853,127 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sprout Social by 334.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 667,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,293,000 after purchasing an additional 513,687 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Sprout Social by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,625,000 after purchasing an additional 311,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shannon River Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,103,000.

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.