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

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $75.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 36.09% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.54.

Sprout Social Stock Down 2.1 %

Sprout Social stock opened at $55.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.92 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Sprout Social has a twelve month low of $37.00 and a twelve month high of $68.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $333,928.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 209,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,485,031.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sprout Social news, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $333,928.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 209,375 shares in the company, valued at $12,485,031.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 44,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total transaction of $2,622,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,436,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,200 shares of company stock worth $8,171,958. Corporate insiders own 11.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprout Social

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Sprout Social by 2.8% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 75,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 306,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,840,000 after acquiring an additional 16,726 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 94,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after acquiring an additional 15,662 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 76,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after acquiring an additional 45,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the fourth quarter valued at $672,000.

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.