Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Trading Up 6.1% – Should You Buy?

Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)’s share price shot up 6.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $34.87 and last traded at $34.86. 179,085 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 728,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SPT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Friday, November 8th. 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. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Sprout Social in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. 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.com, Sprout Social presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.46.

Sprout Social Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -28.43 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $29.55 and its 200-day moving average is $31.61.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $102.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.04 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In other news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,465 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Preto Joseph Del sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $42,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 158,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,017.78. The trade was a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,765 shares of company stock valued at $1,505,079 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 3.8% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Sprout Social by 6.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Sprout Social by 3.9% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 19,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 2,346.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period.

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.