Sprout Social’s (SPT) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $75.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a buy rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Sprout Social from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.57.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $51.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Sprout Social has a 52-week low of $37.00 and a 52-week high of $68.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.76 and a 200-day moving average of $56.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.74 and a beta of 1.05.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $93.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.76 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.91% and a negative return on equity of 41.25%. Equities research analysts expect that Sprout Social will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $2,622,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,436,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $2,622,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total value 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 a total of 140,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,958 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sprout Social by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,084,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,609,000 after purchasing an additional 191,471 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Sprout Social by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,404,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,692,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124,376 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sprout Social by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,953,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,183,000 after purchasing an additional 853,127 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,532,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,587,000 after purchasing an additional 153,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,649,000 after purchasing an additional 17,268 shares during the last quarter.

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.