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

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) hit a new 52-week low on Friday after Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $50.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Sprout Social traded as low as $29.64 and last traded at $30.08, with a volume of 5810943 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.15.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SPT. KeyCorp lowered Sprout Social from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Sprout Social from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $75.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Sprout Social from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.07.

Insider Transactions at Sprout Social

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $1,130,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,983,066.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $1,130,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 127,322 shares in the company, valued at $7,602,396.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,958. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Sprout Social by 244.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,692,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 27.5% during 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 increased its position in Sprout Social by 334.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 667,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,293,000 after purchasing an additional 513,687 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in 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 bought a new position in Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,103,000.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $93.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.64% and a negative return on equity of 42.60%. Research analysts expect that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.