Short Interest in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) Declines By 23.4%

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a decrease of 23.4% from the February 28th total of 4,530,000 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 621,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPT. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.85.

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Sprout Social Stock Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock traded down $1.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.73. 1,650,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,443. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 1.11. Sprout Social has a 12-month low of $19.21 and a 12-month high of $59.04.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.35). Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $107.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.74 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sprout Social will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In related news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $241,720.03. This represents a 84.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 23,646 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $581,218.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,358.76. This trade represents a 35.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,302,919. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPT. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 1,319.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 100.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Sprout Social by 2,392.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,695 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarbrough Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000.

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.