Piper Sandler Downgrades Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) to Neutral

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $40.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $66.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an overweight rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BTIG Research cut shares of Sprout Social from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $28.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 1.09. Sprout Social has a 12 month low of $27.75 and a 12 month high of $68.41.

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

Insider Transactions at Sprout Social

In other Sprout Social news, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $2,334,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,802,544.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sprout Social news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $1,252,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,533,534.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $2,334,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,802,544.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,100 shares of company stock worth $5,126,065 over the last three months. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPT. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprout Social by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Sprout Social by 14.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000.

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.