Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.31% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SPT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.85.

Sprout Social Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Sprout Social stock opened at $27.35 on Wednesday. Sprout Social has a 1 year low of $25.05 and a 1 year high of $64.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of -22.79 and a beta of 1.06. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.52.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.35). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. The company had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.74 million. Analysts expect that Sprout Social will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total value of $1,303,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,417 shares in the company, valued at $241,720.03. The trade was a 84.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $423,474.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,182,487.35. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 120,265 shares of company stock worth $3,837,006. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Sprout Social in the 4th quarter worth about $4,296,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Sprout Social during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 110,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 54,300 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 4,811 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 454,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,947,000 after acquiring an additional 238,650 shares during the period.

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.