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

Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $45.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $72.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SPT. Barclays decreased their target price on Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sprout Social from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.07.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

Sprout Social stock opened at $28.28 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $55.98 and its 200 day moving average is $56.80. Sprout Social has a 1-year low of $27.75 and a 1-year high of $68.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. Research analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $89,445.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 172,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,294,761.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $89,445.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 172,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,294,761.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $16,802,544.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,100 shares of company stock valued at $5,126,065 over the last ninety days. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 74,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,568,000 after purchasing an additional 46,033 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 61,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,058,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,692,000 after buying an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sprout Social by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,084,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,609,000 after acquiring an additional 191,471 shares in the last quarter.

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.