Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $30.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SPT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprout Social currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.77.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $19.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.70. Sprout Social has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $54.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.37 and a beta of 1.11.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.74 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprout Social will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $334,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 136,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,717,842.50. This represents a 10.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total transaction of $97,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,665 shares in the company, valued at $498,414.30. This represents a 16.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 125,446 shares of company stock worth $3,115,839 in the last quarter. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 1,319.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 2,392.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 19,500.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares during the period. Finally, Yarbrough Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000.

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.