Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Stock Price

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) had its target price cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.85.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPT opened at $27.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Sprout Social has a twelve month low of $25.05 and a twelve month high of $64.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.63 and a 200 day moving average of $30.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.79 and a beta of 1.06.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.74 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprout Social will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 30,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,922.90. This represents a 14.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,465 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,182,487.35. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 120,265 shares of company stock valued at $3,837,006. Company insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprout Social

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

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.