Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $27.25, but opened at $26.12. Sprout Social shares last traded at $26.51, with a volume of 173,202 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $107.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.74 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SPT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Sprout Social from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprout Social news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $171,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,169.60. The trade was a 12.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,343 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 120,265 shares of company stock valued at $3,837,006 over the last 90 days. 10.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 380.7% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,772,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,425,000 after buying an additional 1,403,549 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Sprout Social by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,762,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,374,000 after acquiring an additional 519,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,422,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 2,306,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,822,000 after purchasing an additional 330,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sprout Social by 324.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,714,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares during the last quarter.

Sprout Social Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -22.05 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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.