Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Trading Up 5.7% - Here's Why

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report)'s share price 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPT. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $48.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.46.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.96 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In other news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $171,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,169.60. This represents a 12.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 72.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,565 shares of company stock worth $2,196,911 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Sprout Social by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 188,724 shares of the company's stock worth $5,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the second quarter worth about $4,345,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 20.0% during the third 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 period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,120,000.

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.