Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price points to a potential upside of 73.94% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank assumed 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $48.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.54.

Sprout Social Stock Up 2.9 %

SPT traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.62. 436,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,514. Sprout Social has a fifty-two week low of $25.05 and a fifty-two week high of $68.41. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.35 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.35.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. The business had revenue of $102.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.04 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprout Social will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,465 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $423,474.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,182,487.35. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.26, for a total transaction of $151,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,665 shares in the company, valued at $927,922.90. The trade was a 14.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,265 shares of company stock worth $1,266,606. 10.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 188,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Sprout Social by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,199,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,868,000 after purchasing an additional 200,190 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 324.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,714,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter valued at $1,074,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter worth $2,120,000.

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.