Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price Up 5.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) rose 5.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $32.77 and last traded at $32.43. Approximately 20,697 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 283,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $48.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank began coverage on Sprout Social in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.46.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.79 and its 200 day moving average is $31.49.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $102.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.04 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. Research analysts anticipate that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprout Social

In other news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $564,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,381.91. This trade represents a 72.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $474,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,807,443.75. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,565 shares of company stock worth $2,196,911. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Sprout Social by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,762,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,374,000 after purchasing an additional 519,406 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sprout Social by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,150,000 after acquiring an additional 100,890 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 1.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,164,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,915,000 after purchasing an additional 21,186 shares during the period. Dorsey Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprout Social during the 2nd quarter valued at $61,583,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,227,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,672,000 after buying an additional 5,557 shares in 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.