Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Trading 4.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) shares rose 4.2% during trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $42.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Sprout Social traded as high as $34.38 and last traded at $34.05. Approximately 165,630 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 489,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.67.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sprout Social from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on Sprout Social in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In other Sprout Social news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.26, for a total value of $151,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,922.90. This trade represents a 14.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.67, for a total value of $1,266,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,397.12. This represents a 59.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,265 shares of company stock worth $2,533,406 over the last 90 days. 10.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Sprout Social by 16.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,762,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,374,000 after buying an additional 519,406 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,171,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,689,000 after acquiring an additional 7,311 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,557 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,199,451 shares of the company's stock worth $34,868,000 after purchasing an additional 200,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sprout Social by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,175,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,179,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter.

Sprout Social Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -27.34 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.06). The business 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.