Robert W. Baird Downgrades Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) to Neutral

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) was downgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $45.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $72.00. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 56.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SPT. BTIG Research lowered shares of Sprout Social from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on Sprout Social in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Sprout Social from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Down 40.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPT opened at $28.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.71. Sprout Social has a 1 year low of $27.85 and a 1 year high of $68.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 1.09.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.64% and a negative return on equity of 42.60%. The business had revenue of $93.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.76 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In other news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 406,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,983,066.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 406,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 stock was sold at an average price of $59.71, for a total value of $89,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,602,396.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,958 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPT. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Sprout Social during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Sprout Social during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 281 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.