Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price Up 9.9% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) shot up 9.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $24.74 and last traded at $23.98. 82,987 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 670,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.81.

The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. The firm had revenue of $109.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SPT shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Sprout Social from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In other news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $799,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,417 shares in the company, valued at $148,265.83. The trade was a 84.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $334,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 125,446 shares of company stock worth $2,644,639. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Sprout Social by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 83,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 8.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 5.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.00 and a 200-day moving average of $27.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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.